Another spinoff success

Article Excerpt

BAXALTA INC. supports the value we place on spinoffs. The company makes vaccines and drugs. Until July 1, 2015, it was a subsidiary of Baxter International (New York symbol BAX). That’s when Baxter set it up as a separate firm. Investors received one Baxalta share for every Baxter share they held. On June 3, 2016, Baxalta merged with Ireland-based Shire plc (Nasdaq symbol SHPG), which makes drugs for rare and lifethreatening diseases. Under the deal, Baxalta investors received $18.00 a share in cash and 0.1482 of a Shire American depositary receipt (ADR) for each share they held. Based on Shire’s price just before it completed the purchase, the offer totaled $46.16 per Baxalta share. That works out to a 35.8% gain since the spinoff from Baxter. Shire’s tax rate is just 17%, compared to the 23% that Baxalta paid as a U.S. firm. However, big acquisitions like this add risk. Sell. Sell…