Investors Want Walgreens to Leave the U.S. for Europe, Create Tax Inversion

Walgreens shareholders want the U.S. pharmacy chain to consider relocating to Europe. It would be one of the largest tax inversions ever attempted by a company. Investors owning close to five percent of Walgreens shares lobbied the company's management to use its $16 billion takeover of Swiss based pharmacy Boots to re-domicile its tax base. Analysts at UBS said Walgreens tax rate was expected to be 37.5 percent compared with only 20 percent for Boots.