
Shareholders overwhelmingly approve Centene-WellCare merger
While the shareholder vote is a major milestone, the deal still needs to get the approval of an additional 22 state regulators.
While the shareholder vote is a major milestone, the deal still needs to get the approval of an additional 22 state regulators.
Centene's investment will drive growth at the New York-based company and expand access to behavioral health resources to traditionally underserved Medicaid patients, which make up a large portion of the insurer's membership base.
The Louisville-based insurer broke its long-standing no comment policy, citing "significant investor speculation and persistent market rumors."
Centene announced that current Wellcare CEO Ken Burdick and Wellcare executive vice president and CFO Drew Asher will join Centene in executive leadership positions reporting directly to Centene CEO Michael Neidorff.
A report in Reuters cited unnamed sources who said that two hedge funds with ownership stakes in Centene - Corvex Management LP and Sachem Head Capital Management - are looking to possibly oppose the Wellcare acquisition in favor of a deal with a larger player like Humana.
Innovations that emerge from the research will be commercialized through a joint venture between the school and Centene called the ARCH Personalized Medicine Initiative.
The combined company will have around 22.3 million members across all 50 states, ranking it as the fourth largest insurer in the country.
Last year, the New York-based company sued insurer Florida Blue, a licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association over its exclusive broker policy, which it claimed was anti-competitive and reduces customer choice.