Cerulean Shareholders to Vote on WellPoint Plan

Cerulean Cos., Georgia’s biggest health insurer, has set an Oct. 10 shareholder vote on WellPoint Health Networks Inc.’s $500-million purchase proposal.

Thousand Oaks-based WellPoint, one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health-care companies, agreed to pay shareholders stock or cash for the Atlanta-based company.

Cerulean shareholders approved the transaction in June 1999, before the acquisition was delayed by a legal challenge in Georgia. Cerulean said it will hold the new shareholder vote in Atlanta. WellPoint has said the transaction could close by the end of the year.

Cerulean is the parent of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Georgia, which has more than 1.6 million customers. WellPoint is the parent of Blue Cross of California, which covers about 5.4 million people. WellPoint had 7.6 million customers in the U.S. as of June 30.

It was disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that WellPoint will pay investment banker Morgan Stanley & Co. $5.4 million if the acquisition closes, in addition to $250,000 per quarter in fees.