UPDATE: Pfizer’s $160B Allergan buy sparks cry for tax-inversion crack down

Updated with extra politician comments and tax-inversion data. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) said today it will buy Botox maker Allergan (NYSE: AGN) for approximately $160 billion and slash its tax bill in the largest-ever tax inversion to date. To avoid restrictions, smaller, Dublin-based Allergan is buying Pfizer, though the combined company will still be known as Pfizer and will still be led by Pfizer CEO Ian Read. CEO Read sent a letter to senior senators yesterday, saying the company “will maintain our global operational headquarters in New York City. At the time we close the transaction, we will have over 40,000 employees across 25 states … We will be gaining greater access to resources that will enable us to make significant investments in the U.S.” The move has sparked sharp responses in the U.S. political sphere, with Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton saying the U.S. could not “delay in cracking down on inversions that erode our tax base,” in a press release. Clinton promised to propose measures to prevent the increasingly common and controversial practice, and called on regulators to take tougher action. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump also commented on the tax-inversion deal, calling it “disgusting” and saying “our politicians should be ashamed.” Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders joined the fray, saying he called upon the Obama administration to stop the deal, saying it would “a...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Tags: Business/Financial News Mergers & Acquisitions Allergan Inc. Pfizer Inc. Source Type: news