Cigna has closed the divestiture of its life, accident and supplemental benefits business in Asia to Chubb in a deal valued at $5.4 billion.
The divestiture covers assets across six markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Cigna said late last week, in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and Thailand. Cigna's joint venture in Turkey is excluded from the transaction, according to the announcement.
"The completion of this transaction allows us to further focus our efforts to grow our global health portfolio," said David Cordani, CEO of Cigna, in a statement. "We are proud of what our teams across Asia Pacific have achieved over the years to improve the well-being and peace of mind of our customers, and we know they will continue to thrive with Chubb."
Chubb paid Cigna a cash consideration of $5.4 billion, and the insurer expects to realize about $5.1 billion in net after-tax proceeds.
Cigna said it plans to use the proceeds primarily for share repurchase and, with $3.5 billion backing, an accelerated share repurchase that it announced in mid-June. The insurer is on track to repurchase at least $7 billion in shares this year, the company said.
The insurer first announced the deal late last year. A key focus at the company of late is consolidating its core healthcare businesses and investing in those elements.