Hedge funds in the business of breaking up deals see big payoff, study finds

Carl Icahn recently tried to destroy Cigna's $54 billion purchase of Express Scripts by buying shares of Cigna and pushing it to get out of the deal. Usually shares of an acquiring company fall and those of a target rise, allowing traditional merger arbitrage traders the chance to profit on their price movements as the deal nears completion. Carl Icahn recently used it to try to destroy Cigna CI 's $54 billion purchase of Express Scripts ESRX .