The wave of major merger-and-acquisition activity expected in 2018, spurred at least partially by the corporate tax reform that gave US-based companies a lower corporate tax rate and the chance to repatriate off-shore cash at a low rate, did not materialize.
The 10 largest US-based life sciences firms were expected to repatriate about $160 billion in cash under the tax reform provisions, according to a report by EY in early 2018,...