Another vertical mega merger: The Tipline for 9 March 2018

Expert discovery closes and pre-trial motions and briefs are due today in the Department of Justice’s challenge to the AT&T/Time Warner merger, but our eyes are on another vertical mega-merger: Cigna’s $67 billion acquisition of Express Scripts. The companies announced the deal a day after the head of the Food and Drug Administration expressed concerns about the existing consolidation of pharmacy benefit managers and of PBMs teaming up with payors – ie insurers – to avoid passing the benefits of competition on to patients and employers.