UPDATE 1-Centene files lawsuit against Amerigroup
Jan 8 (Reuters) - Health insurer Centene Corp (CNC.N) filed a lawsuit against rival Amerigroup Corp (AGP.N), claiming Amerigroup's termination of its agreement to buy certain assets of Centene's New Jersey-based unit is invalid.
Centene filed the lawsuit in the Superior Court of New Jersey Chancery Division.
On Dec. 31, Amerigroup terminated the deal to buy certain assets of Centene's New Jersey unit, University Health Plans Inc.
Amerigroup had said it exercised its right of termination due to "certain events that occurred following execution of the agreement," and it had not provided any further details about the reason for the termination.
Separately, St. Louis, Missouri-based Centene had said it would use "all available means" to close the deal.
Shares of Centene closed at $20.51, while those of Amerigroup closed at $29.01 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Anuradha Ramanathan in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan) ((anuradha.ramanathan@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800: Reuters Messaging: anuradha.ramanathan.reuters.com@reuters.net))
