Pfizer, Allergan Seal $160 Billion ‘Reverse Merger’
There will be side effects. The deal between the American pharmaceutical giant and Irish Botox-maker Allergan is set to create the world’s largest drug manufacturer. Pfizer will relocate its headquarters to Dublin, effectively halving its tax rate to 12.5 percent in an inversion acquisition, with the smaller firm absorbing the bigger one while using the American label. Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read — who has long held that U.S. tax policy puts companies at a disadvantage globally — will head the new venture, and Allergan CEO Brent Saunders will serve as deputy.
