Two individuals familiar with the subject stated on Sunday that the United States health insurer Cigna (CI.N.) has terminated its attempt to negotiate an acquisition of its competitor Humana (HUM.N.) after the two companies could not reach a pricing agreement. This news came when the business revealed its intention to buy back shares worth $10 billion.

A combination between Cigna and Humana would have resulted in the formation of a corporation with a market value greater than 140 billion dollars; nonetheless, it would have undoubtedly been subject to intense antitrust examination. Six years after regulators blocked mega-deals that would have integrated the health insurance business in the United States, conversations occurred.

According to two individuals who are acquainted with the issue, the parties were unable to reach a consensus on the price, which led to the conclusion of the negotiations for the sale. According to those individuals, there is still the prospect of a partnership.

On Sunday, however, Cigna intended to acquire an additional ten billion dollars worth of shares, increasing the total repurchases to eleven and a half billion dollars.

Cigna, a company in Connecticut, had its stock price increase by 12.1% to $290.07 during premarket trading on Monday. They have declined almost 22% this year, with a drop of over 10% occurring since the end of November after news on negotiations with Humana. Shares of Humana were up 2.3% during the weak trading session.

“We believe that Cigna’s shares are significantly undervalued, and repurchases represent a value-enhancing deployment of capital as we work to support high-quality care, improved affordability, and better health outcomes,” said David Cordani, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cigna, the company’s chief executive officer.

Cordani said the corporation would consider “value-enhancing divestitures” in addition to bolt-on acquisitions aligned with its strategy.

According to the sources, Cigna is continuing to investigate the possibility of selling its Medicare Advantage business, which manages the health insurance program for those aged 65 and older. The company’s expansion in the sector would be reversed if it were to take such action.

When Reuters asked Cigna for a comment regarding the purchase negotiations, the Wall Street Journal initially reported them. Humana declined to comment on the matter.

THE DIFFICULTIES IN CONSOLIDATION

If the two companies had merged, the combined business would have had more scale to compete with more extensive health insurance providers in the United States, such as UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) and CVS Health (CVS.N).

Currently, Cigna and Humana, which have market values of $77 billion and $59 billion, respectively, have business overlap, with most of their operations centered on Medicare programs for senior citizens in the United States.

Cigna’s Medicare business is significantly smaller and less profitable than Humana’s Medicare operation. According to a Reuters article from November, Cigna was considering the possibility of selling its Medicare Advantage operations, which have produced disappointing results for investors. Regulatory lawyers have suggested that this disposal might increase the likelihood that a merger with Humana will successfully overcome antitrust issues.

Nevertheless, there have been worries regarding antitrust in relation to the sector. Anthem, now Elevance Health (ELV.N.), gave up a $48 billion acquisition bid for Cigna as a result of antitrust objections that American courts upheld in 2017. Because Aetna, now controlled by CVS Health CVS.N., a drugstore chain operator, was unsuccessful in its court struggle, the company decided to terminate a $37 billion bid to purchase Humana.

In November, when news of the transaction discussions emerged, a healthcare economist at Northwestern University named Craig Garthwaite stated that he anticipated antitrust authorities fighting the merger. However, he also stated that a sale of Cigna’s Medicare Advantage (MA) business would boost the prospects of the agreement.