Carl Icahn is going public with his campaign to scuttle Cigna Corp.’s CI, -0.73% $54 billion plan to buy Express Scripts Holding Co. ESRX, -0.89%
The billionaire activist investor plans to send an open letter Tuesday urging fellow Cigna shareholders to vote against the deal, which he calls a “$60 billion folly” carrying a “ridiculous” price tag, according to a draft seen by The Wall Street Journal.
“Cigna is dramatically overpaying for a highly challenged Express Scripts that is facing existential risks on several fronts,” Icahn writes.
The Journal previously reported that Icahn bought a sizable Cigna stake, plans to vote against the health insurer’s proposed purchase of the pharmacy-benefit manager and was considering publicly airing his concerns to persuade other shareholders to do the same. His concerns include competitive risk from Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +1.34% and indications from the Trump administration that it could limit the manufacturer rebates pharmacy-benefit managers get.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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