No acquisitions just to cut tax

Allergan chief executive David Pyott said he probably won’t follow other drugmakers in making an acquisition in Ireland as a way to lower the company’s corporate taxes.

The Irvine, California-based maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment, has a manufacturing plant in Ireland, which already is adding some tax advantages, Mr Pyott said. Additionally, acquisition opportunities in that country are dwindling in the wake of moves by other companies, he said.

Investors have been pressuring Mr Pyott to seek such a deal, according to David Maris, senior research analyst at BMO Capital Markets. It follows acquisitions last year of Irish drugmaker Elan by Perrigo, the largest US maker of generic over-the-counter medicines, and Dublin-based Warner Chilcott last year by Actavis, which relocated to Ireland through the deal.