(Reuters) – U.S. insurer Cigna (NYSE:) Group has renewed efforts to merge with smaller rival Humana (NYSE:) after abandoning its pursuit late last year, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report shows that the companies recently held informal, preliminary discussions about a potential transaction.
Humana shares were up about 5% in after-hours trading on Friday, while Cigna’s shares were down about 4%.
Last year, Reuters reported that Cigna ended its attempt to negotiate a takeover of Humana after the two sides failed to agree on a price and announced a $10 billion share buyout.
Pending deal talks, sources told Reuters there was still a possibility of a deal in the future.
Earlier this year, Cigna reached a $3.3 billion deal with insurer Health Care Service Corp to sell its Medicare business, which administers government-backed health insurance for people 65 and older.
A merger between Cigna and Humana could create a company worth close to $130 billion, based on their market value.
Humana has lost nearly 40% of its value this year as it grapples with declining enrollment in top-rated Medicare insurance plans and higher costs due to higher demand for medical care.
Cigna and Humana declined to comment.
(This story has been updated to fix a typo in paragraph 7)
