NEW YORK (AP) – New York Life is spending more than $6 billion in cash to buy the group life and disability coverage business of the insurer Cigna.
The life insurer said Wednesday that the deal will add millions of customers to its business. It also gives Cigna Corp. cash to buy back stock and pare its debt.
New York Life has been operating for more than 174 years and is among the nation’s oldest life insurers. The company is owned by policy holders and does not trade publicly.
The deal is expected to close in next year’s third quarter.
Cigna is on one of the nation’s largest health insurers and has been focusing its business more on managing patient care and improving the health of its customers.
It will get about $5.3 billion after taxes from this deal. That will help the company meet its debt obligations after it closed its acquisition of the pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts about a year ago.
