Alkermes to acquire Elan unit in $960 million deal

DUBLIN (AP) — U.S. drugmaker Alkermes Inc. is acquiring the drug-delivery division of Elan Corp. and will move its headquarters from Massachusetts to Ireland, in a deal worth $960 million.

The two companies said Monday that the deal, in the works for at least half a year, would not mean any job losses on either side of the Atlantic.

For Dublin-based Elan, the sell-off of its drug technologies division caps nearly a decade of restructuring moves to cope with crippling debts.

Alkermes said it expects to see its sales volume double and its tax bill fall in Ireland, where the corporate tax rate is 12.5 percent, nearly two-thirds lower than in the United States.

The two …