Puerto Rico Deals Offer Diversification to GuideWell, Anthem

Puerto Rico recently has become a hotbed of merger and acquisition activity, with two of the territory’s largest health insurers agreeing to be sold to mainland-based companies. Industry analysts say that the deals are motivated by the same rationale driving most insurer M&A — diversification — though they also caution that the unique regulatory environment in Puerto Rico presents some risks.

GuideWell Mutual Holding Corp., the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Inc., said on Aug. 24 that it reached an agreement to purchase Triple-S Management Corp. in a deal worth $900 million. As part of the transaction, GuideWell will acquire all the outstanding shares of Triple-S common stock for $36 per share in cash. Triple-S is Puerto Rico’s largest health insurer, with more than 980,000 members across multiple business lines, according to AIS’s Directory of Health Plans (DHP).

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