On Monday, 14 July, Pharmaceutical Company Mylan Inc announced the acquisition of Abbott Laboratories in markets outside the United States, with an aim to cut their tax bill using tax inversion methods.
In the past too many such deals have been seen and big names have merged with or acquired smaller or sick companies for either tax evasions or expansions.
Here's the list of top 10 pharmaceutical merger and acquisition deals announced in the last five years. However, the list excludes spin off's.
| Announced Date | Value in $ million | Acquirer | Acquired Firm | ||
| Name | Country | Name | Target nation | ||
| 18 Feb 2014 | 28,407 | Actavis plc | United States | Forest Laboratories Inc | United States |
| 22 April 2014 | 54,652. | Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc | Canada | Allergan Inc | United States |
| 22 April 2014 | 23,050 | Novartis AG, GlaxoSmithKline plc | Switzerland, United Kingdom | GlaxoSmithKline's oncology portfolio, R&D activities & AKT inhibitor rights / Novartis' vaccines business | United Kingdom |
| 6 May 2014 | 14,200 | Bayer AG | Germany | Merck & Co Inc (Consumer Care Business) | United States |
| 20 June 2014 | 56,064.4 | AbbVie Inc | United States | Shire plc | United Kingdom |
| 30 June 2013 | 10,248.2 | Amgen Inc | United States | ONYX Pharmaceuticals Inc | United States |
| 19 May 2011 | 13,682 | Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd | Japan | Nycomed SCA SICAR | Switzerland |
| 21 July 2011 | 35,017.9 | Express Scripts Inc | United States | Medco Health Solutions Inc | United States |
| 21 November 2011 | 11,017.1 | Gilead Sciences Inc | United States | Pharmasset Inc | United States |
| 29 August 2010 | 24,476.7 | Sanofi-Aventis SA | France | Genzyme Corp | United States |
Source: Dealogic
