Press Release

CIGNA Agrees to Sell Its Retirement Business to Prudential for $2.1 Billion

Transaction Positions CIGNA for Growth as a Leading Provider of Health Care Benefits and Disability, Life and Accident Insurance Programs for Employers and Their Employees

PHILADELPHIA, PA, November 17, 2003 -- CIGNA Corporation announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its retirement business -- excluding its corporate life insurance unit and its investment advisory operation, TimesSquare Capital Management, Inc. -- to Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) for $2.1 billion.(1) The transaction, subject to regulatory approval and other contingencies, is expected to be completed by March 31, 2004.

"We'll now concentrate fully on being a leading provider of health care and disability, life and accident insurance benefits programs for employers and their employees," said H. Edward Hanway, chairman and chief executive officer, CIGNA Corporation. "This transaction enables us to pursue that objective with a heightened sense of urgency -- focused exclusively on delivering the health and insurance solutions our customers demand. We intend to capitalize on our considerable strengths in these areas to accelerate our profitable growth.

"The sale is certainly a positive development," Hanway said. "Prudential, committed to growth in the markets served successfully by our retirement organization, is acquiring a profitable, well-managed operation with a broad range of products and programs and a team of knowledgeable, experienced professionals. Moreover, retirement plan sponsors and participants can expect to receive from Prudential the same high level of quality, product innovation and service they have come to expect from us."

CIGNA expects to use the proceeds to support strong subsidiary and parent company ratings, ensure financial flexibility of the parent company, support the growth of its existing businesses, and return capital to investors by reducing corporate debt and repurchasing shares of outstanding stock.

CIGNA moving forward

As a leading health and related insurance benefits specialist, CIGNA is equipped to deliver innovative business solutions that meet the needs of customers for cost-effective, high-quality health care benefits, and disability, life and accident insurance programs. Moving forward, CIGNA intends to:

• Draw upon its wide-ranging capabilities in medical, behavioral, dental and pharmacy benefits and disability, life and accident insurance to create benefits programs tailored to the customer's specific business requirements;
• Equip a national team of clinical professionals and account managers with state-of-the-art health and related information critical to controlling costs, improving medical outcomes, and helping employers retain productive and healthy workers;
• Strengthen working relationships with benefits consultants and producers to ensure that they have a full understanding of the breadth of CIGNA's medical and disability products and "return to work" capabilities, specialty health care offerings and overall commitment to clinical quality;
• Establish a meaningful competitive advantage by working continuously to reduce the cost of delivering products and services while meeting customer needs; and
• Recruit and retain the industry's most qualified and capable professionals.

"This agreement marks an important new phase in our development as a company," Hanway said. "Our goal, now and for the future, is to be the industry's leading provider of health and insurance benefits. We'll achieve this objective by building on the good progress we've made to date in improving the performance of our health care operations and enhancing the already strong market position of our disability, life and accident insurance businesses.

"We will also begin immediately to reshape the company for maximum operating efficiency," Hanway continued. "This is a critical part of the process. We'll realign our operations and reduce our overall cost structure to become even more competitive and ensure that we're in the best possible position to meet the needs of our customers. This will be an aggressive and far-reaching effort that will fuel our success in the marketplace."

For more information on the transaction, Retirement clients may visit http://www.cignaretirementnews.com

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