Doctors Company May Merge

The Doctors Co. has received federal regulatory approval to purchase SCPIE Holdings in a medical malpractice insurance merger that will create one of the largest such carriers in the nation. The Federal Trade Commission gave a green light for the proposed merger. The deal still requires approval from SCPIE shareholders, as early as February, and one shareholder is opposing it. The Doctors Co., Napa, Calif., entered into a definitive agreement to buy Los Angeles-based SCPIE on Oct. 16, for $28 per share, or about $281 million. If approved, the Doctors Co. would become one of the largest med mal carriers, with nearly 19,000 covered physicians.