Perrigo, Actelion Tax Targets Abroad for U.S. Drugmakers

Drugmakers Perrigo Co. and Actelion Ltd., in Ireland and Switzerland, may join U.K.-based medical device company Smith & Nephew Plc as acquisition targets for U.S. health-care companies racing to find tax relief abroad before the U.S. government curbs the option.

Deals for these companies would be smaller than AbbVie Inc.’s $54.8 billion Shire Plc purchase, with Perrigo’s $20 billion market value the next largest among the companies. Still, they would add to a flurry of 20 completed and pending transactions since January 2012 involving companies that seek to avoid the 35 percent U.S. tax rate and free up foreign cash by redomiciling in countries with lower corporate rates.