December 27, 2018
By Vince Brennan – Managing
Editor, St. Louis Business Journal
When Express
Scripts and Cigna executives finalized their merger Dec. 20, the deal solidified its spot
on the list of the largest M&A transactions of the year.
The total value
of the deal — $67 billion — includes Cigna's assumption of $13 billion of
Express Scripts' net debt, placing it near the top of the list of biggest
M&A transactions in 2018.
What's more,
the Express Scripts/Cigna deal is the 11th-largest merger of all time between two North
American companies, according to data from the Institute of Mergers,
Acquisitions and Alliances.
Despite the
large size of several deals this year, M&A activity has lagged through
the third quarter of 2018, according to Pitchbook. The third quarter of 2018
had 2,489 deals totaling $446.2 billion, down from the same quarter in 2017
with 3,031 deals totaling $521.3 billion.
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