Hospira said to be mulling bid for Danone unit
Hospira Inc. (NYSE:HSP) declined to comment on media reports that the company is in talks to acquire the medical nutrition unit of food product conglomerate Danone (Euronext:BN) in a deal valued at about $5 billion. The deal, if completed, would allow Hospira to lower its tax rates by re-domiciling abroad while maintaining a U.S. headquarters. Danone's medical nutrition unit recorded 2013 sales of EUR 1.3 billion ($1.8 billion), and Hospira recorded adjusted net sales of $4.1 billion for the year. Danone, which could not be reached for comment, was up EUR 0.47 to EUR 55.53 on Monday. Hospira was up $0.12 to $51.84 on Monday.
The reports comes amidst a flurry of tax-inversion deals in the industry. Earlier this month, Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL) announced it would re-domicile in the Netherlands after acquiring the ex-U.S. developed markets branded generics business of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT). That same week, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) said it would acquire Irish specialty pharma Shire plc (LSE:SHP; NASDAQ:SHPG) and domicile the combined company in the U.K. (see BioCentury, July 21). ...