Pfizer, Allergan close to $150B deal

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Pfizer Inc. and Allergan PLC are on the cusp of reaching a $150 billion deal that would create the world’s largest drugmaker by sales, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

According to the newspaper, terms of the deal include 11.3 Pfizer shares for every Allergan share, along with a small cash component. The boards of each company were expected to approve the agreement Sunday and it could be announced today.

Pfizer and Allergan representatives declined to comment.

If a deal is reached, it would be the biggest-ever merger in health care and the largest “inversion” ever – that’s a tax-saving maneuver in which a U.S. company reincorporates in a country with a lower corporate tax rate. Botox maker Allergan is based in Ireland but runs much of its operations out of Parsippany, N.J.