The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that U.S. health insurer Cigna Group has ended its attempt to negotiate an acquisition of rival Humana after the pair failed to agree on price, as Cigna announced plans to buy back $10-billion worth of shares (all figures U.S.). A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that a Cigna-Humana combination would have created a company with a value exceeding $140-billion, but was certain to attract fierce antitrust scrutiny. The discussions came six years after regulators blocked megadeals that would have consolidated the U.S. health insurance sector. There remains the possibility of a tie-up in the future. Cigna boss David Cordani said in a Sunday statement that the company would consider bolt-on acquisitions aligned with its strategy as well as "value-enhancing divestitures." Cigna is still exploring the sale of its Medicare Advantage business, which manages government health insurance for people aged 65 and older. A merger would have given the combined company more scale to rival bigger U.S. health insurance players Unitedhealth Group and CVS Health. Cigna and Humana, which have market values of $77-billion and $59-billion, respectively, currently have business overlap.