Search results for

Amongst other goals, such as deduction of borrowing costs or tax-efficient unwinding, the additional step-up depreciation of the underlying assets is an important factor in any acquisition. The tax savings of such additional depreciation increase the cash flow of the target and, therefore, are essential for financing an acquisition.

The Frankfurt office of Beiten, Burkhardt, Mittl & Wegner advised Mediclin AG in its takeover of the Hurrie clinics group.

In the write-up of the Ciba/Clariant merger (Dealmakers, December/January 1999) the partners concerned were wrongly attributed. Dr Urs Schenker, Philip Marcovici and Hans Andrée Koch were the partners from Baker & McKenzie; Peter Athanas and Steven Widmer were the Arthur Andersen partners involved.

Specific international agreements and general trends toward global economic consolidation mean that Canadian business is now more than ever an important part of a highly integrated north American – and increasingly globalized – economy. Nevertheless, unlike the situation in the EU, the Canadian income tax system has undergone little if any change to harmonize its application with the tax systems of its major trading partners.

Swedish pharmaceutical group Astra is to merge with UK pharmaceutical company Zeneca. The deal will create the largest pharmaceutical group in Europe, with a market capitalization of $70 billion. This is the largest merger ever to be performed in Europe.

British American Tobacco is to acquire Rothmans for $8.6 billion. The new group will have 16% of the world market, and will sell 900 billion cigarettes each year.

Struggling Brazil may lose R$7 billion ($2.7 billion) in tax revenue because of a complicated legislative process. This would result in the country missing budget targets negotiated with the International Monetary Fund.

A potential acquirer is often interested in using its stock to purchase a certain portion of a US target's businesses. In this circumstance, the acquisition commonly employs the so-called "Morris Trust" structure. In such a structure, the target corporation first distributes the stock of a controlled subsidiary (which would typically hold all of the target's "unwanted" businesses) to its shareholders, and then, holding only the desired business, the target corporation is acquired for stock by the acquiring corporation.

New York firm Sullivan & Cromwell is advising SBC Communications in the acquisition of Comcast Corporation's wireless subsidiary.

Electricity utility PacifiCorp of the US has announced an agreed merger with ScottishPower of the UK.