Santo Domingo.- In a significant financial move in the pharmaceutical industry, Edwards Life Sciences has sold its Critical Care division to Becton Dickinson (BD) for $4,200 million. The transaction, legally executed in the Dominican Republic due to Edwards Life’s residency in the country’s free trade zone, requires capital gains taxes to be paid to the Dominican General Directorate of Internal Revenue (DGII).
The DGII has already received an advance payment of 900 million pesos, with the remaining 22,000 million pesos due in installments this November and in May next year. Despite the substantial revenue boost, the Dominican Government cannot allocate these funds freely due to Fiscal Responsibility Law restrictions, which regulate the use of extraordinary income to ensure sound financial management. This sale stands out as one of the largest corporate deals conducted in the Dominican free trade zone in recent years.