Centene Corporation has completed its acquisition of Magellan Health, the insurer announced.
The $2.2 billion deal closes exactly one year after its announcement on Jan. 4, 2021. The combination will create one of the country’s largest behavioral health platforms, including 41 million unique members.
Magellan will operate independently as part of Centene’s Health Care Enterprises arm, and members of the existing leadership team, including CEO Ken Fasola, will continue to lead the company within Centene.
“Magellan will expand Centene’s reach to provide increased access to behavioral healthcare for our members at a time when so many Americans are struggling with mental or behavioral health issues,” said Michael Neidorff, CEO of Centene, in a statement.
“This transaction establishes a strong foundation from which we will innovate and reimagine behavioral and specialty health to provide comprehensive and integrated healthcare to our members, while generating value for our state partners and shareholders,” Neidorff said.
Magellan’s common stock ceased trading Tuesday, Centene said.
In addition to its behavioral health platform, Magellan will add 5.5 million members to Centene’s government program, 16 million pharmacy members and 2 million pharmacy benefit management members.
Centene executives initially believed the deal would close in the second half of 2021.