US drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb is moving assets of up to $25 billion from an Irish holding company, it said today, fanning worries in Ireland that it is growing less competitive.
A company spokesman said the liquidation of assets in Bristol-Myers Squibb International Holdings Limited was "part of the company's ongoing review of its financial operations".
"It's a holding company. It does not have any business operations or workforce. This action will not have any impact on the day-to-day operation in Ireland," said Brian Henry, regional spokesman for Bristol-Myers Squibb, which also has two factories in Ireland.
Mr Henry declined to comment on a report in The Irish Timesthat the move was to benefit from even lower corporate tax rates elsewhere than the 12.5 per cent levy in Ireland which ranks among Europe's lowest.
Bristol-Myers Squibb would not say where it was transferring the assets of the holding company, which owns subsidiaries in the United States, Europe, Latin American and Asia.
The holding company had pretax profits of €1.66 billion ($2.2 billion) in 2005.