Speculation growing over allergan merger talks

SPECULATION is mounting that Pfizer and Allergan, which employs 1,000 people in Westport, are set to merger.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Pfizer is in preliminary takeover talks with Allergan and that the pair could create the world’s largest pharmaceutical group with a market capitalisation of well over $300bn.

Pfizer employs about 4,000 people in eight plants across Ireland manufacturing a range of cardiovascular drugs, vaccines, animal health products and Viagra, while Allergan employs close to 1,000 people in Westport principally in R&D and production of Botox.

The deal would not only bring benefits in terms of scale and efficiency but also enable Pfizer to move its tax domicile to Ireland, a so-called tax inversion, and thereby massively reduce its current effective US tax rate of more than 25%.