TRIGON CLAIMS WELLPOINT PAID TOO MUCH FOR CERULEAN

Virginia-based health insurer Trigon Healthcare has claimed that California-based health insurer WellPoint Health Networks bid too much for Georgia-based Blue Cross/Blue Shield operator Cerulean. Trigon CEO Tom Snead said that his company, which bid $675m for Cerulean, had wanted the deal to be earnings-positive by the sixth quarter after the purchase went through, and that this would not have been possible if it had outbid Wellpoint’s offer of $700m cash. “We had the discipline to back off”, Mr Snead said.