Pharmaceuticals giant Takeda settles with Revenue Commissioners for €130m

Pharmaceuticals giant Takeda said it will pay the Revenue Commissioners €130 million to settle a case tied to a failed deal dating back almost a decade ago.

The Revenue hit Takeda with a €398 million tax bill in 2019 tied to a €1.6 billion break fee another firm, Shire, received as part of a takeover which did not go through in 2014. Takeda bought Irish-domiciled Shire in 2019, making it liable for the tax bill.

“Under the terms of the agreement with Irish Revenue, Takeda will make a payment to Irish Revenue of €130 million including interest and without penalties, as a full and final settlement of all liabilities in relation to the receipt of the break fee,” Tokyo-based Takeda said in a statement. “The settlement amount will be paid to the Irish Revenue in the quarter period ending December 31st,” it added.

The agreement caps a long battle that had pitched one of the world’s biggest pharmaceuticals firms against the Irish tax authority. Takeda had paid a reported $50 billion for Shire alone, and has made a series of multibillion dollar acquisitions. The firm has had a presence in Ireland for more than 25 years, employing about 900 people at present.

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Takeda had appealed the Revenue’s ruling but the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) sided with the State body in 2021. At the time Takeda said it would appeal the ruling.

On Wednesday Takeda said the TAC had been required to rehear the matter this year. That rehearing process “was still ongoing when the parties reached this agreement”, it said.

A spokeswoman for the Revenue Commissioners declined to comment.

This is at least the second nine-figure tax settlement by a pharmaceuticals firm with the Revenue in recent years. In 2021 over-the-counter drugs company Perrigo settled what was at the time the largest tax bill ever issued by the Revenue Commissioners for €297 million. When credit for certain taxes already paid was factored in Perrigo was required to make a cash payment of €266.1 million.

The figure was a fraction of the €1.64 billion bill the Revenue initially levied against Perrigo which is headquartered in Ireland but operates out of the small Michigan town of Allegan.

Revenue had already accepted earlier this summer that the contested sum was just under €1 billion – at €976 million – following discussions between the two sides.