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REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 29 (Reuters) - Cigna (CI.N) and Humana (HUM.N), two of the biggest U.S. health insurers, are in talks for what could be the largest merger announced in 2023, according to a source familiar with the matter. A Humana and Cigna combination would give the merged company the scale to rival UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) and CVS Health (CVS.N). In July 2016, the Justice Department filed lawsuits against two health insurance mergers on the same day, saying they would lead to less competition and higher prices for Americans. Health insurers have been facing higher medical costs as people return for procedures they had put off during the pandemic. Humana in February said that it would sell its commercial business but keep its Medicare Advantage products.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Cigna, Cigna's, Aetna, Bill Baer, Andre Barlow of Doyle, Barlow, Mazard, Bernstein, Lance Wilkes, Craig Garthwaite, Manas Mishra, Diane Bartz, Deena Beasley, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Humana Inc, REUTERS, Street Journal, UnitedHealth, CVS Health, Humana’s, Medicare, Affordable, Justice Department, Humana, U.S ., Reuters, Northwestern University, Thomson Locations: Queens , New York City, U.S, Cigna, Bengaluru, Washington, Los Angeles

Deal negotiations between Exxon and Pioneer are advanced but have not yet led to an agreement, Reuters reported on Thursday. These transactions were eventually allowed to be completed, and the regulator has not sued to thwart an oil and gas production deal since 2000. The lawyers and experts interviewed said the FTC would face an uphill struggle in challenging Exxon's attempted acquisition of Pioneer. "The modern U.S. experience is that oil and gas deals of any notable size get a close look. It sued to block the merger and only agreed to drop its objections after BP offered to divest oil production acreage in Alaska.

Persons: Joe Biden, Janet Yellen, Leah Millis, producer's, Lina Khan, Andre Barlow, Doyle, Barlow, Mazard PLLC, Sheldon Whitehouse, William Kovacic, George Washington, consultancies Wood MacKenzie, David Kass, Diane Bartz, David French, Mike Stone, Greg Roumeliotis, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Treasury, White, REUTERS, Exxon Mobil, Natural Resources, Exxon, Pioneer, Reuters, Federal Trade Commission, Democratic, George, Companies, Activision, FTC, Atlantic, BP, RBC Capital Markets, Chevron, PDC Energy, University of Maryland, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Atlantic Richfield, Alaska, West Texas, New Mexico, Rystad, Denver, Julesburg, Washington ,, Atlanta

JetBlue said it had informed American last week of its decision to terminate the three-year-old alliance, which allowed the two carriers to coordinate flights and pool revenue. The "Northeast Alliance" with JetBlue helped American compete in the New York market, where it had been losing money. On May 19, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston ordered JetBlue and American to end the partnership, saying it "substantially" diminished competition in the domestic market. JetBlue said its decision to unwind the alliance would not result in any immediate changes for customers. But without the alliance, Hayes said JetBlue would likely need fewer employees in New York and Boston.

Persons: judge's, U.S . Justice Department's, Robin Hayes, Andre Barlow, Doyle, Barlow, Mazard PLLC, Leo Sorokin, Hayes, Rajesh Kumar Singh, David Shepardson Diane Bartz, Will Dunham, David Gregorio, Jamie Freed Organizations: JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, American Airlines, The, JetBlue, American, U.S, U.S ., US Airways, DOJ, ALLIANCE, District, Northeast Alliance, furloughs, Thomson Locations: U.S, The New York, American, New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington

"The legal precedent is not on the side of the FTC," said Andre Barlow, an antitrust lawyer at Doyle, Barlow & Mazard PLLC. Barlow pointed to three recent mergers challenged by the FTC or Justice Department that were ultimately allowed to proceed. Those cases share something else in common with the proposed Microsoft deal: in each instance, a company would merge with a supplier in a so-called "vertical" merger. "Vertical merger challenges are really difficult to win so it will be an uphill battle for the FTC," said Roger Alford, who teaches law at the University of Notre Dame. Reuters reported last month that Microsoft was expected to offer remedies to EU antitrust regulators in the coming weeks to stave off formal objections to the deal.

The U.S. Justice Department, which approved Ticketmaster's much-criticized purchase of Live Nation in 2010, is different than it was 12 years ago. A probe is well short of a decision to file a lawsuit asking a judge to break up a company. Ticketmaster previously said in a statement the Swift ticket sale problems were caused by unprecedented demand, much of it by bots trying to buy tickets to resell. "Live Nation was a new entrant, but it had the wherewithal to really compete," he said. A previous Ticketmaster fight with the department culminated in a December 2019 settlement that extended for another five years a consent decree that was part of the deal's initial approval.

From a broader national perspective, a combined Kroger and Albertsons does not pose any major threat to the competitive dynamics of the market." Kroger said it expects to reinvest about half a billion dollars of cost savings from deal synergies to reduce prices for customers. "The merger will accelerate our position as a more compelling alternative to larger and non-union competitors," Kroger Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen said. Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse were the financial advisors to Albertsons, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo advised Kroger. Kroger will have to pay Albertsons $600 million if the deal is terminated.

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