Report : Pfizer And Allergan Set To Strike Merger Deal Worth More Than $150 Bln

(RTTNews) - Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and Allergan Plc. (AGN) are set to strike a merger deal worth more than $150 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The report indicated that the final terms of the deal include 11.3 Pfizer shares for every Allergan share. The deal also contains a small cash component. The boards of each company are expected to approve the agreement Sunday and it could be announced Monday.

The takeover would be the largest so-called inversion ever. Such deals enable a U.S. company to move abroad and take advantage of a lower corporate tax rate elsewhere, and have remained popular in the face of U.S. efforts to curb them.

To help secure that lower tax rate, the deal will be technically structured as a reverse merger, with Dublin-based Allergan buying New York-based Pfizer, the report said

According to the report, Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read will lead the combined company with Allergan CEO Brent Saunders serving as his number two. Other Allergan executives are expected to join the firm too.