Πηγή: Bloomberg
Pfizer Inc. built itself
into a $212 billion behemoth by spending more money on acquisitions than any
other drugmaker in the world. Still, Pfizer’s next purchase is what will really
leave its mark as a dealmaker.The company may be plotting its biggest purchase yet to solve its biggest gripe: taxes. It pays a higher rate than most of its rivals, and Chief Executive Officer Ian Read has made it no secret that he wants to change that. It made a failed run at AstraZeneca Plc last year in what would have been a $120 billion tax-inversion deal.
As speculation about a deal mounts again, analysts this week began picking their top takeover candidates. They centered on GlaxoSmithKline Plc, AstraZeneca and Shire Plc. And if you ask Mylan NV, it’s also on the list. The executive chairman was said to have told shareholders last week that Pfizer could buy his company after Mylan buys Perrigo Co.
Any one of those deals may enable Pfizer to move its legal address to a place such as the U.K., where corporations have a lower tax burden. Some of its rivals have already done this and it’s led to a greater ability to access their overseas cash stockpiles and eke out more profits for future investments or shareholder payouts.
“Subject to price, there are a lot of merits to a deal like that,” Colin McWey, a fund manager for Heartland Advisors Inc., said in a phone interview. The Milwaukee-based based firm owns shares of Pfizer among the $4 billion it oversees.