What are the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. shareholders who surrendered shares of Bard common stock in the merger?The receipt of the merger consideration by U.S. holders in exchange for shares of Bard common stock pursuant to the merger will be treated as a taxable transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In general, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a U.S. holder who received the merger consideration in exchange for shares of Bard common stock pursuant to the merger will recognize a gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference, if any, between (1) the fair market value of the BD common stock as of the effective time of the merger plus the amount of cash received and (2) the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in such Bard common shares. ... (more info follows)
What will be the tax basis of the new BD shares received at the time of closing?For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of the shares of BD common stock issued in this transaction will generally be the fair market value of such stock at the closing. BD intends to use the closing price of $214.32 on December 28, 2017, the last trading day before the Closing Date, as the fair market value of the BD common stock issued in the merger.