Inversion Crackdown Leaves Several Deals In Limbo

A federal crackdown on so-called tax inversions left roughly a dozen companies in limbo Tuesday as share prices wavered.

Analysts were divided on whether pending deals will get derailed.

Tax consultant Robert Willens said various inversion transactions will get completed "without missing a beat" under newly announced rules, while Wells Fargo said Medtronic Inc.'s MDT pending $43 billion acquisition of Covidien plc COV may need to get renegotiated.

Medtronic fell more than 3 percent in midday trading Tuesday, while Covidien was off more than 2 percent.

CMC Markets' Jasper Lawler said the political tipping point that sparked the crackdown was the prospective deal between Burger King Worldwide Inc. BKW and Tim Hortons THI, which may result in an iconic American fast-food restaurant become Canadian.

Burger King was off more than 1 percent and Hortons was down 0.4 percent.

Other deals that may now appear shaky include AbbVie Inc.'s ABBV $54 billion plan to acquire Shire PLC SHPG and Mylan Inc.'s MYL $5.3 billion deal to acquire Abbott Laboratories ABT.

AbbVie shed 1.6 percent and Shire dropped nearly 2 percent. Abbott was off more than 1 percent while Mylan fell 0.3 percent.

AstraZeneca plc AZN, widely seen as an inversion target, declined nearly 4 percent while the often-eyed Smith & Nephew plc SNN lost more than 2 percent of its value.