Pfizer Inc. is pursuing what could be the biggest overseas takeover to lower U.S. corporate tax liability, showing that efforts in Washington to stem such deals have amounted to little. Company officials confirmed Thursday a Wall Street Journal report that it was in early talks to acquire Ireland’s Allergan PLC, a $100 billion-plus pursuit that thrusts Pfizer, the maker of Advil and Viagra, into the rancorous debate over corporate taxes. ...
A possible deal between drug giants, Ireland's botox-making Allergan and Pfizer would easily be the largest merger or acquisition of the year, with a combined market capitalisation of around $333.3bn, however it could ignite political issues if it is structured as a corporate inversion, a tax maneuvure whereby a company strategically acquires a foreign entity and then legally changes its headquarters to the target's foreign base to save on its tax bill in the US. The US Treasury has warned that such deals are likely to raise concerns about whether they will benefit American taxpayers. Clearly that's a goal of theirs", following Pfizer's CEO, Ian Read's recent attack on the US tax code. Financial indications of the deal have not been released but one possibility is that Pfizer could split into two companies after completing the acquisition.