A quirk of the ABT-ABBV split-up (to take effect on 1/1/13) is that ABT has to buy back some of its debt at a premium while ABBV issues new debt and transfers the resulting cash to ABT in the form of a one-time dividend:
The end results of this multi-step operation accomplishes essentially nothing for shareholders of the two companies, but is necessary for legal/tax reasons and is yet another payday for the investment bankers.
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