辉瑞收购艾力建告吹

据一位消息人士本周二透露，由于美国财政部出台了旨在遏制相关避税交易的新政，美国辉瑞制药公司（Pfizer）目前已倾向于放弃以1600亿美元收购艾尔健公司（Allergan，总部位于爱尔兰的都柏林）的合同。

这位要求匿名的消息人士表示，本周二，两家公司及双方律师仍在继续就如何应对财政部新政进行讨论，但目前仍未达成任何最终决定。

辉瑞原本计划在与艾尔健合并后，将新的公司总部迁至爱尔兰。目前辉瑞公司不愿意就交易条款进行更改，然而根据美国财政部的税收新政，辉瑞在并购后即使“迁都”至爱尔兰，也无法享受到税收上的优惠。

辉瑞和艾尔建都拒绝对此事发表评论。

本周一，美国财政部出台了一系列新政，禁止企业出于少缴税的目的，通过与一家较小的公司进行合并迁址至海外低税负国家，而将核心业务与管理层继续留在美国运营的的“税负倒置”行为。

辉瑞公司担心，奥巴马政府可能会为了阻止一笔交易而再次改变游戏规则。

这名消息人士表示，辉瑞公司的律师已经为两家公司提出了变通方案来挽救这笔税负倒置案，但双方对该变通方案都不热衷。

他指出：“辉瑞已经意识到，财政部将会继续否决它可能提出的任何解决方案。”

摆在此次收购案面前的一个主要障碍是，美国财政部决定，对收购美国资产的外国公司施加为期三年的限制，以免相关外资通过收购美资，来规避日后进行税负倒置的所有权门槛。

这也就意味着艾尔健公司最近的几笔交易——包括以660亿美元并购艾尔健Plc公司（Allergan Plc）和阿特维斯Plc公司（Actavis Plc），以250亿美元收购森林实验室（Forest Laboratories），以及以50亿美元收购华纳奇考特公司（Actavis Plc）——以上这几笔交易在计算艾尔健公司的体量时都不会被计算在内，因而艾尔健也就无法通过这笔收购案的“所有权门槛”。

该消息人士还表示，财政部的新政在此时出台，对于辉瑞来说相当意外，因为辉瑞对此次斥资1600亿美元收购艾尔健信心十足。他表示，辉瑞公司的管理层原本以为，财政部会在去年年底出台针对税负倒置的政策，当时两家公司还在想方设法规避现有法规。

不过该消息人士还表示，辉瑞和艾尔建一直都有一套退出策略。双方都同意，如果美国出于联邦税收目的，对法律进行了不利于此次收购案的修改，导致合并后的公司被视为一家美国国内的公司，那么双方中的任何一方都有权终止交易。

根据双方的并购合同，在此情况下，提出终止合同的一方将向对方支付4亿美元的费用。

辉瑞公司首席执行官晏瑞德（Ian Read）自从2014年放弃了收购英国制药商阿斯利康（AstraZeneca）以来，就一直在孜孜不倦地寻找另一个并购伙伴，以将公司注册地迁至欧洲。

该消息人士指出，晏瑞德坚信，辉瑞与艾尔健的并购案是符合行业逻辑的，合并后的公司也能够实现节省税负的目标。但美国财政部的新政已经令他萌生了退意，他也不愿意与美国有关当局打一场官司。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎

Drugmaker Pfizer is leaning towards abandoning its $160 billion agreement to buy Allergan in light of the U.S. Treasury’s new measures to curb such tax evading deals, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

The discussions between the two companies and their lawyers are set to continue for the remainder of Tuesday and no final decision has been made, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

However, Pfizer is not willing to change the terms of its deal with Allergan which, under the new tax rules, would no longer benefit from the move to Ireland, the source said.

Pfizer and Allergan declined to comment.

The U.S. Treasury Department took new steps on Monday to curb tax-driven corporate inversions whereby companies seek to slash their tax bills by redomiciling overseas, though their core operations and management usually remain in the United States even as they claim a new tax home.

Pfizer is concerned U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration could change the rules again to thwart a deal.

The source said the company’s lawyers have presented alternative ways for the two companies to salvage the inversion but there was little appetite for it.

“Pfizer is aware that the Treasury will keep ruling against any solution it can come up with,” he said.

One of the main hurdles to the deal was Treasury’s decision impose a three-year limit on foreign companies bulking up on U.S. assets to avoid ownership limits for a later inversion deal.

This means Allergan’s latest deals — which include the $66 billion merger of Allergan Plc and Actavis Plc, the $25 billion purchase of Forest Laboratories and the $5 billion takeover of Warner Chilcott – will not be counted and the business will fail to meet the ownership math for the deal.

The source said the new rules came as a surprise as Pfizer was confident of delivering on its $160 billion proposed merger with Allergan. He said the management was rather expecting the Treasury to rule against inversions towards the end of last year when the two companies were looking at ways to bypass the existing law.

Pfizer and Allergan have always had an exit strategy in place, the source said. The two drugmakers agreed that either party may terminate the deal if an adverse change in U.S. law would cause the combined company to be treated as a U.S. domestic corporation for federal income tax purposes.

The terminating party would have to pay the other company up to $400 million for its expenses, according to the merger agreement.

Pfizer’s Chief Executive Ian Read has tirelessly worked to find a merger partner and redomicile the business in Europe since dropping a takeover bid for British drugmaker AstraZeneca in 2014.

The source said Read firmly believes in the industrial logic of a deal with Allergan and the tax savings that the combined entity would achieve, but he has been put off by the Treasury’s latest measures and is unwilling to fight a legal battle with the U.S. authorities.