Abbott Lab -my summary-Abbott Labs is a medical&pharma company based in Chicago. http://www.abbott.com/
They recently(Aug 2016 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/business/dealbook/abbotts-no-good-very-bad-ma-week.html)) had
some problems as they tried to acquire two different companies simultaneously which both had some issues. They had tried to
acquire Alere, which makes medical tests. As part of the agreement Abbott was supposed to seek merger approval&close
the deal as usual, but when it became apparent that Alere was being investigated for regulation problems over foreign sales
practice its annual financial report was delayed. This appears to have already been known at the time Abbott signed the deal. In
the mean time Abbott tried to acquire St. Judge Medical also to expand into the cardio market (and epipens). But a report
revealed by Muddy Waters Research showed that their pacemakers were vulnerable to cyber attack&that revenue would be
halfed over a two year period. In order to reverse the deal with Alere that company claimed in a suit that Abbott didn't take the
agreed to steps to seek merger approval in an attempt to purposely thwart the buyout.
The article says, ""Maybe they did these deals out of desperation to bridge a growth gap or something, in terms of being willing
to overlook things,” said Mr. Funtleyder, who also is an adjunct professor of public health at Columbia University. “Wall Street is
not going to think this is an honest mistake.”"&that's the problem Abbott has. It might appear they didn't due their due
diligence before trying to acquire the companies.
The article admits, "The report disclosing problems with St. Jude Medical’s cardiac devices came from an investment firm, which
had bet on the decline of St. Jude shares. The founder of that firm, Carson Block, received the information from MedSec, which
is a cybersecurity research firm. After MedSec discovered the vulnerabilities, it contacted Mr. Block. Justine Bone, MedSec’s
chief executive, said on Bloomberg TV on Thursday that MedSec also benefited from the decline in St. Jude’s stock price this
week."
And that seems likely. There's always a motive. I personally think the chances that a pacemaker would be tampered with are
remote but that measures should be built in to prevent that.
But this company being based in Chicago&having such a big hand in recent medical company mergers might mean their is
more to this company that should be researched further as time allows.
The Abbott website (http://www.abbott.com/investors/governance/leadership-team.html)) has profiles on these people: Miles D.
White, Thomas C. Freyman, Hubert L. Allen, Brian J. Blaser, John M. Capke. Ph.D., Robert B Ford, Stephen R. Fussell, Heather L.
Mason, Michael J. Warmuth, Roger M. Bird, Jaime Contreras, Thomas Frinzi, Andrew H. Lane, Elaine R. Leavenworth, Corlis D.
Murray, Deepak Nath. Ph.D, Jean-Yves Pavee, Daniel Salvadori, Jared L. Watkin, Brian B. Yoor.
A overview of some of the details I noticed:
White is the chairman&CEO, also serves on the board of Caterpiller&McDonalds, member of US-China Business Council,
and was Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. So he's got a lot of clout.
Freyman was certified as a public accountant with Ernst & Whinney in Chicago&is a director of Tenneco which makes car
parts.
Allen was Assistant General Counsel for McKesson Corp.
Blaser did enginnering, finance,&operations for companies Johnson & Johson, Eastman Koda,&General Motors.
Ford did marketing for Becton Dickinson Brazil.
Fussell did HR for Nestle&Shell.
Mason works on nutritional products, Latin American Operations, worked for Quaker Oats&FMC Corp. Advisor to Healthcare
Businesswomen's Assoc.
Bird works on U.S. Nutrition&does the same for China&Hong Kong, worked for Dial Soap in sales, launced Similac Elva
and Similac Qinti infant forumlas.
Contreras worked on Europe, Africa, Middle East, Spain, Portugal&Mexico. Worked for Bayer in Mexico. Is on the board for
European Diagnostic Manufacturers Assoc. (EDMA)&Clara Aboot Foundation.
Leavenworth serves on board for U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Goodman Theater, Duke Global Health Institute, Women's
Advisory for Girl Scout Council of the Nations' Capital. Member of Economic Club of Chicago, Women's Forum of D.C.,&served
on board of The Chicago Network,&the President of the Abbot Fund their philanthropic foundation,&was on the board of
Clara Abbott Foundation.
Murray worked at Recognition Equipment&Xerox Corp.
Nath lead work at Amgem&consulted for McKinsey & Company.
Salvadori was CEO for LATAM for CFR Pharma.
Yoor is a member of NIRI, National Investor Relations Institute.
Directors Listed (http://www.abbott.com/investors/governance/board-of-directors-and-committees.html)) with some summaries:
Miles D. White
Robert J. Alpern. M.D. - Director of AbbVie Inc.
Roxanne S. Austin - Pres.&CEO of Move Networks, Inc., a provider of Internet television services. Pres.&CEO of DIRECTV,
Inc., Exec. VP&Chief Financial Officer of Huges Electronic Corp.,&as a partner of Deloitte & Touche LLP. a director of
AbbVie Inc., Target Corportation, Teledyne Technologies, Inc.&Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson.&President of Austin
Investment Advisors.
Salley E. Blount, PH.D - Business&Management. Served as Vice Dean&Dean of undergrad. college New York University's
Leonard N. Stern School of Business, was the Abraham L. Gitlow Profess. of Management&Organizations.
W. James Farrell - Was CEO&Chairman of Illinois Tool Works, board of directors of 3M, Allstate Insurance, UAL Corporation.
Edward M. Liddy - Partner in investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Interim Chairman&CEO of American International
Group, Inc. (AIG) serving at the request of U.S. Department of Treasury. Chairman, CEO, Pres., of Allstate Corp., Board of
Directors of AbbVie Inc., 3M, Boeing,&partner of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC.
Nancy McKinstry - CEO&Chairman of Wolters Kluwer N.V., Board of Telefonieaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (LM Ericsson Telephone
Company), Board of MortgageIT Holding, Inc.
Phebe N. Novakovic - Was Chairman&now CEO of General Dynamics Corp, service Marine System of General Dynamics,
Special Assistant to the Secretary&Deputy Secretary of Defense,&Deputy Associate Directory of the Office of
Management&Budget. It notes here that she as Special Assistant to Secretary&Deputy SOD she provides government
perspective&experience in a highly regulated industry. I assume that means she is something like their lobbyist.
William A. Osborn - Was Chairman&CEO of Northern Trust Corp., currently a director of Caterpillar, General Dynamics
Corporation, Chairman of Board of Trustee of Northwestern University. Served on Board of Nicor, Inc.,&was on Board of
Directory of Tribune Company. Again there is a note about highly regulated industries so again I assume he's a lobbyist for
them.
Samuel C. Scott III - Chairmain, Pres.&CEO, of Corn Products International, Pres. of Corn Refining Division of CPC
International, "when CPC International spun off Corn Products International as a separate corporation." Board of Directors of
Bank of New York mellon Corp.&Motorola Solutions, Inc. A note says "experience in finance&capital markets matters."
Glenn F. Tilton - Chairman of Midwest JPMorgan Chase & Co, Non-Exec. Chairman of Board of United Continental Holdings, Inc.
Chairman, Pres.&CEO, of UAL Corp, a holding company, Chairman of CEO of United Air Lines, Inc., owned by UAL. A director
of AbbVie Inc.&Phillips 66. Served on doard of Directors of Lincoln National Corp. of TXU Corp, of Corning Incorp.,&of
United Continental holdings, Inc. Served as Chairman of the Midwest for JPMorgan Chase & Co., Non-Exec. Chairman of Board of
United Continental Holdings, Inc., Chairman, Pres.,&CEO of UAl&United Air Lines, Vice Chairman of Chevron Texaco,
Interim Chairman of Dynegy, Inc. Again there is a note about regulated industries&finance&capital markets....more below...
derram ago
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ReadThatAlready ago
Apparently some people aren't too happy a lot of these people's money is offshore. This article (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-companies-offshore-cash-1006-biz-20151006-story.html)) says "Illinois Fortune 500 companies have $135 billion stashed overseas:report". The article features a picture of the sign from the Abbott company,& the article says "AbbVie, Abbott,&Caterpillar among U.S. companies with most cash parked overseas," & "$135 billion in profits overseas that aren't subject to U.S. taxes." The study was done by Citizens for Tax Justice&Illinois PIRG which details offshore tax havens. But Apple was the company topping the list. "Combined, AbbVie, Abbott&Caterpillar have $64 billion in earnings reinvested indefinitely in foreign subsidiaries." AbbVie shareholder report says $23 billion earned from foreign subs have been "indefinitely reinvested for continued use in foreign operations."
"Other Illinois companies mentioned in the report as having at least some money held offshore include: Anixter, Archer Daniels Midland, Baxter, Boeing, CDW, Corn Products, Deere, Dover, Illinois Tool Works, Kraft, LKQ, McDonald's, Mondelez, Motorola Solutions, Navistar, Tenneco&W.W. Grainger." Well folks that's a lot of companies that are all headed up by the same people in the list given at Abbott's website. McDonalds, Illinois Tools, Motorola, Tenneco, Corn Products, etc.
So maybe somebody is trying to build a case for tax evasion here or at least trying to build a case for tax policy reform to repatriate that money. As the article says, "The U.S. is among a few developed countries that charge taxes on income gained overseas. Some companies have said the U.S. needs to change its tax policies if it wants companies based here to be competitive&to continue to build operations stateside. They also say they have extensive foreign operations&many options when making decisions related to expansion, new product sourcing,&mergers&acquisitions."
Another sets of articles by the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/business/international/abbott-india-suicide-inhuman-drug-sales-tactics.html & a blurb http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/business/dealbook/abbott-ausgrid-valeant.html)) is critical of Abbott's overseas operation in India alleging the demand for sales drove a worker to suicide in that he left a note saying that was his reason for killing himself. Two hundred&fifty workers went on strike for a day. But what seems more problematic is the Times found that managers told staff to holy "health camps" where reps. performed tests on patients to increase business for doctors who would prescribe Abbott drugs. These were held at doctor's offices&community events. This is a problem because it could be seen as practicing medicine without license, which is a crime,&there is a ethical quid pro quo that could have been violated. Vivek Gupta, manager of sales in Northern India claims he was fired after the company pressured him to make his reps. do more screenings to promote Abbott's new multivitamin for nerve damage. (Surbex Star is the product if I'm understanding the article correctly which is used for neuropathy in people with diabetes.) It was also said that management was pressuring employees to purchase drugs with their own money to meet sales targets.&there were allegations of discounts afforded to the government being offered to private wholesalers as a kickback. There's a note that Abbot acquired Solvay Pharmaceutical of Belgium for 6.2 billion in 2010.
Another problematic company listed as companies that at one time employed people working for Abbott now was Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). Wikipedia has the info (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysine_price-fixing_conspiracy)) In the 1990s there was a conspiracy for price fix the animal feed additive lysine by companies that used high-tech fermentation techniques. The companies listed by wikipedia as being involved was Archer Daniels midland, the Japanese Ajinomoto&Kyowa Hakko Kogyo, the Korean Sewon America Inc.&Cheil Jedang Ltd. Apparently there were fined levied ($105 million plus a $30 million fines involving citric acid market as well)and three year prison sentence for three executives of AMD that colluded with the other companies. The foreign companies settled with the U.S. DOJ AntiTrust Division in 1996. The price of lysine had risen 70% in nine months during the conspiracy. Buyers of lysine in U.S.&Canada sued&got $80 to $100 million in damages back&ADM paid out $38 million to settle with its shareholders. Cities involved in the investigation included Tokyo, Paris, Mexico City,& Hong Kong. Some of the principal actors were Vice Chairman Michael D. Andreas&Mark Whitacre the informant who apparently had embezzled some money&so got pinched for that. The company paid out $400 million on part of the class action case involving high fructose corn syrup. "The ADM investigation, in turn, convinced antitrust prosecutors that price-fixing was a far more pervasive problem than they had suspected&led to prosecutions of cartels in vitamins, fax paper,& graphite electrodes. European&Canadian regulators have started to crack down on the problem, too.[9] Once a crime that rarely attracted the notice of federal authorities, price-fixing is now under attack by governments around the world. Billions of dollars have already been paid in antitrust fines to the U.S. government since Whitacre first blew the whistle in 1992." Vitamins?
They may be referring to this case (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-20/chinese-vitamin-c-makers-win-dismissal-of-147-million-judgment)). Apparently vitamin C is also an additive in feed. Customers sued in U.S. court&won, but it was dismissed as the Chinese companies (North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp.&its manufacturing unit, Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co) were acting under Chinese law. The companies which purchased the vitamin for use in their products were Animal Science Products Inc.& Ranis Co.,
Here's another animal feed vitamin case. Janet Reno was really pushing for this, "globalized economy" anti-trust stuff. (https://www.quackwatch.org/02ConsumerProtection/rochefine.html & http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-05-21/news/9905210013_1_roche-and-basf-price-fixing-and-bid-rigging-vitamin))
When doing random searches about companies that showed up in my reserach also noticed a program for hiring military officers for civilian work. (http://leadersinc.com/recruiting/military-officers-transitioning/current-clients/)) Some of the companies listed associated with people that work for Abbott, are participants like Motorola, Target, Tenneco, Caterpillar, Bayer, Abbott Labs. There seem to be a lot of medical&pharma companies like GE healthcare, Merck, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Bayer, The program is based in Florida, veteran owned&operated,&Buddy Webster is the President. Tom Quinn, a former Ranger, is a partner&worked for Tenneco, but the division he worked for was sold&he launched LEADERS, the program I found in doing my research. (http://leadersinc.com/about-us/our-team/tom-quinn/)) It indicates less than 24 employees&100 employees placed in six months, so it's a small operation. I have a feeling Tenneco was a place a lot of vets worked at when Tenneco was bigger. Probably Tom Quinn's previous experience with them helps him place vets into jobs at corporations where Tenneco people now work.
Additional story possibly related: The Chicago Tribune reported a jeep being stolen from the lot at Navistar that was then used in a theft. Navistar makes heavy trucks. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/franklin-park/crime/ct-fhj-franklinpark-blotter-tl-1124-20161118-story.html & http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/business/transportation-industry/navistar-international-corporation-ORCRP010586-topic.html ). That's all I have for now, but it's a damn good start. Connect Board of Directors of Companies to Clinton Foundation and Obama when you do research.