輝瑞放棄1600億美元稅收倒置交易

The collapse of Pfizer’s $160bn merger with Allergan yesterday brought the total value of abandoned deals this year to its highest since the eve of the financial crisis and sent shockwaves through corporate America.

輝瑞(Pfizer)與艾爾建(Allergan) 1600億美元的合併交易昨日崩潰，使今年以來放棄交易的總價值達到金融危機前夕以來的最高水平，也使美國企業界感受到衝擊波。

The decision to terminate the largest tax inversion deal in history marked a watershed victory for an interventionist Washington and left the US drugmaker scrambling to re-evaluate its strategy.

終結史上最大“稅收倒置”交易的決定，標誌着干預意識較強的華盛頓方面取得一個分水嶺勝利，並使輝瑞這家美國製藥商忙於重新評估自己的戰略。

The abrupt end of Pfizer’s turbulent three-year hunt for a deal to escape the US tax authorities came as government intervention left a second big deal in doubt. The US Department of Justice sued to block Halliburton’s proposed $25bn takeover of rival oil-services group Baker Hughes. Halliburton is contesting the suit.

爲了逃避美國稅務當局，輝瑞忙活了三年時間尋求達成合並，這個一波三折的過程如今嘎然而止。與此同時，政府幹預使另一筆大交易產生變數。美國司法部(DoJ)爲了阻止哈里伯頓(Halliburton)以250億美元收購競爭對手、石油服務集團貝克休斯(Baker Hughes)而提起訴訟。哈里伯頓正在抗辯。

The implosion of the Pfizer-Allergan merger brought the value of deals withdrawn so far this year to $376bn — the highest since 2007 by deal value, when $405.9bn of transactions were scuppered, according to Dealogic.

Dealogic的數據顯示，輝瑞-艾爾建合併交易的崩潰使今年迄今撤銷的交易總價值達到3760億美元，是自2007年以來最高的，那年有4059億美元的交易泡湯。

Pfizer’s board voted to abandon the blockbuster deal after the US Treasury unveiled proposals that appeared designed to remove the lucrative benefits of its planned inversion, said one person familiar with the matter.

據一名知情人士介紹，在美國財政部(Treasury)公佈提案、似乎意在使輝瑞這筆計劃中的稅收倒置交易不再有利可圖之後，輝瑞董事會投票放棄這筆重量級交易。

Pfizer was seeking to escape the high US corporate tax rate by shifting its address to low-tax Ireland, where Allergan is domiciled, but the Treasury’s plans aim to wipe out the advantages that “abusive” inverters seek.

輝瑞此前尋求遷至低稅收的愛爾蘭（艾爾建的註冊地），從而逃避美國較高的企業稅，但美國財政部計劃的目標是消除“濫用”倒置交易方的優勢。

They delivered a crushing blow to Ian Read, Pfizer’s chief executive. Several Pfizer investors questioned how he could have misjudged the mood in Washington, saying he had become increasingly confident of the deal’s prospects in recent weeks.

財政部的計劃沉重打擊了輝瑞首席執行官伊恩•裏德(Ian Read)。輝瑞的一些投資者質問說，他怎麼會如此錯判華盛頓的情緒？裏德曾稱，他在最近幾周對這筆交易的前景越來越有信心。

The drugmaker said it would now decide by the end of this year whether to split off its “established products” division, which sells generic medicines, and its “innovative” patent-protected medicines unit.

這家制藥商表示，現在它將在今年底之前決定是否剝離主要銷售仿製藥的“成熟產品”部門，以及受到專利保護的“創新”藥品部門。

Pfizer stood to escape US tax on more than $128bn of profits stored abroad. The group, which had agreed to pay a break fee of up to $400m, will pay $150m to cover Allergan’s expenses.

輝瑞在海外囤積的逾1280億美元利潤本來有望逃避美國稅收。此前同意支付高達4億美元分手費的輝瑞，將支付1.5億美元以彌補艾爾建的費用。

A person close to Pfizer said its board believed the administration was ready to do anything to block the deal so felt it had no choice but to abandon the merger. Challenging the ruling in the courts would have injected a level of uncertainty that would have been hard for shareholders to tolerate, the person added, describing the Treasury’s move as “pretty extraordinary” as it appeared to target one specific deal.

接近輝瑞的一名人士表示，其董事會認爲，奧巴馬政府將使出任何必要手段封殺這筆交易，所以覺得別無選擇，只好放棄合併。這名人士稱，在法庭挑戰這項裁決將注入股東們難以容忍的不確定性，此人形容美國財政部的舉動是“相當不尋常的”，因爲它似乎針對一筆特定交易。

Brent Saunders, Allergan chief executive, said that while the company was disappointed that the deal would not happen, Allergan was “poised to deliver strong, sustainable growth”.

艾爾建首席執行官布倫特•桑德斯(Brent Saunders)表示，儘管該公司對這筆交易不會發生感到失望，但艾爾建“將會實現強勁、可持續的增長”。