Â鶹ŮÓÅ

Endo International PLC agreed to buy rival drug maker Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. for $8 billion, the latest in a string of cross-border mergers steering tax revenue away from the U.S., despite Washington’s efforts. Endo, which relocated from Pennsylvania to Ireland last year, is one of several drug companies lately using their lower-tax foreign addresses as springboards for acquisitions in the U.S., which has one of the world’s highest corporate tax rates. (Hoffman, 5/18)

Drugmaker Endo International PLC is climbing toward the top of the steadily consolidating generic medicine business with a deal to buy Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. for about $8.05 billion. The deal would enable Dublin-based Endo to leapfrog from No. 10 to No. 5 in U.S. generic drug sales barely five years after its first foray into generics. (Johnson, 5/18)

Endo Pharmaceutical P.L.C. said Monday that it will pay $8.05 billion for privately held Par Pharmaceutical Holdings L.L.C., to strengthen its position on the shifting landscape of generic drugmakers. The stock-and-cash sale comes amid consolidation in the market for generic drugs, as companies strive for greater leverage and profit, while patients and payers complain of rising prices. Some of the large generic drugmakers also sell so-called branded drugs, which usually carry higher prices because they are protected from market competition by patents. (Sell, 5/19)