(Reuters) - U.S. health insurer Cigna Group has revived efforts to merge with smaller rival Humana after abandoning the pursuit late last year, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The companies have held informal, early discussions recently about a potential deal, the report said.
Shares of Humana were up about 5% in after-hours trading on Friday, while those of Cigna were down about 4%.
Last year, Reuters reported that Cigna ended its attempt to negotiate an acquisition of Humana after the pair failed to agree on a price and announced a $10 billion worth of shares buyback.
By the time the deal talks ended, sources had told Reuters that there was still a possibility of a tie-up in the future.
Cigna struck a $3.3 billion deal with insurer Health Care Service Corp earlier this year to sell its Medicare business that manages government-backed health insurance for people aged 65 and older.
Should a merger between Cigna and Humana occur, it could create a company with a value nearing $130 billion, based on their market values.
Humana has lost nearly 40% of its value this year as it has been struggling with declining enrollments in its top-rated Medicare insurance plans and elevated costs due to higher demand for medical care.
Cigna and Humana declined to comment.
(This story has been refiled to fix a typo in paragraph 7)
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)