Could Medtronic-Covidien deal get caught in anti-inversion legislation?
July 16, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani
The White House is looking to clamp down on companies that relocate their headquarters overseas in order to benefit from lower tax rates, a measure that could have implications for Medtronic’s $43 billion mega-merger with Covidien.
Part of the Medtronic-Covidien deal includes shifting Medtronic’s official headquarters from Minnesota to Covidien’s base in Ireland, allowing Medtronic to take advantage of the country’s more favorable corporate tax rate in a move called a corporate inversion. Read more
Medtronic fights tax dodging rhetoric in Covidien merger
July 17, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani
With talks heating up on Capital Hill about tax-dodging companies, medical device giant Medtronic issued an update regarding its tax position before and after the pending $43 billion merger with Covidien.
In an interactive graphic also filed with the SEC, Medtronic said that moving its headquarters overseas will only ensure that it can continue to use Covidien’s cash for U.S. investments. Read more
Travelers holds out on BD's $67M coverage claim
July 15, 2014 by Brad Perriello
Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. is suing Becton Dickinson & Co. over a $67 million claim related to BD’s losses in a string of anti-trust lawsuits filed over its alleged monopolization of the hypodermic needle market, seeking to have a judge declare that the insurance company isn’t bound to cover the losses.
Becton was the defendant in 9 purported class action lawsuits brought by distributors and hospitals alleging that the Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based healthcare giant “engaged in conduct violative of federal antitrust laws that resulted in inflated prices for Becton’s products” and “illegally acquired a monopoly over the sale of various hypodermic products.” Read more
Abbott CEO defends inversions amid corporate exodus furor
July 18, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani
Abbott chairman & CEO Miles White took to the media today to speak out against a new measure that would prevent corporate inversions, like the one included in Abbott’s sales of its generics business to Mylan Inc. and in Medtronic’s acquisition of Covidien.
These acquisitions agreements, as well as a handful of other mega-deals underway, include shifting the companies’ headquarters outside the U.S. where they will benefit from a more favorable corporate tax rate, especially on cash earned overseas. Not exempt from U.S. taxes, White emphasizes, are revenues collected prior to the inversion. Read more
Steris, Medtrica win legal fees in Cygnus Medical patent spat
July 15, 2014 by Brad Perriello
A federal judge in Washington reversed a ruling and awarded legal costs to Steris and Medtrica in their patent infringement spat with Cygnus Medical, after the U.S. Supreme court revised the rules around awards for lawsuits alleged to be frivolous.
Judge Robert Lasnik of the U.S. District court for Western Washington had ruled in April that Steris and Medtrica were not entitled to recoup legal costs after Lasnik found that their endoscope kits didn’t infringe a Cygnus patent. But the Supremes’ decision in Octane Fitness v. Icon Health & Fitness2 weeks later lowered the bar for such awards, leaving them to district courts’ discretion. Read more
