Walter Eisner • Thu, June 5th, 2014
Bloomberg reported on June 4, 2014 that Medtronic, Inc. is joining Stryker Corporation in evaluating a purchase of Smith & Nephew plc (S&N). Medtronic management quickly threw cold water on that report at a Wall Street analyst meeting on June 5.
According to “people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg reported that a takeover could see Medtronic move its tax domicile overseas and give the company better access to its overseas cash.
Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak, reported Bloomberg, has said he wouldn’t rule out a tax-inversion deal.
“Strategically, we do have this current problem that we have a lot of cash outside the U.S.,” he said in a May 20 telephone interview. “We encourage some kind of U.S. tax reform that allows us access to that cash in a more reasonable way.”
