U.S. drugstore chain operator Walgreen Co is under pressure from a group of shareholders to consider relocating to Europe to gain tax benefits, the Financial Times reported. Shareholders owning nearly 5 percent of the company's shares lobbied Walgreen's management to use its ownership stake in Alliance Boots to change its legal domicile to Europe, the financial daily said.The push was made at a private meeting between the shareholders and company executives in Paris on Friday, the paper said in a report on Sunday. (link.reuters.com/quf58v)Such a move, known as tax inversion, could significantly reduce Walgreen's taxable income in the United States, which has one of the world's highest corporate tax rates.The meeting was attended by Walgreen Chief Executive Greg Wasson, Chief Financial Officer Wade Miquelon and Stefano Pessina, the Italian billionaire chairman of Alliance Boots, Financial Times said.
Walgreen Co. (Walgreens), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retail drugstore chain in the United States. Shares of WAG traded higher by 1.24% or $0.8/share to $65.06. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $43.31 and as high as $69.84. On average, 6900450 shares of WAG exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 117151.
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