Baxter denies claims it will relocate from Illinois to Boston

Though Baxter International Inc. has denied reports that it is considering relocating to Boston, Illinois officials are in damage-control mode to ensure that the Deerfield, Ill.-based company stays put. On Aug. 27, the Boston Business Journal reported that Baxter, a biotech giant that has been based in Illinois since the 1930s, is looking to make a...

Though Baxter International Inc. has denied reports that it is considering relocating to Boston, Illinois officials are in damage-control mode to ensure that the Deerfield, Ill.-based company stays put.

On Aug. 27, the Boston Business Journal reported that Baxter, a biotech giant that has been based in Illinois since the 1930s, is looking to make a move to Boston.

According to the Boston Business Journal:

“Local real estate sources have confirmed that the international biotechnology company seeking to relocate its corporate headquarters to a major office and laboratory complex in Cambridge — a stealthy effort known locally as Project Tiger — is in fact Baxter International Inc.”

Baxter announced in March that it is in the process of splitting its business into two separate arms: one focused on biopharmaceuticals and the other focused on the sale of medical products, according to the Boston Business Journal.

But when the company made that announcement, the stated plan was to have both headquarters remain in Deerfield, Ill., according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Boston Business Journal’s sources, however, reported that Baxter is seeking up to 200,000 square feet in Cambridge, Mass. This space will reportedly be home to Baxter’s executive team and other corporate workers. The company will also be adding an additional 200,000 square feet of research and laboratory space by mid-2015.

Illinois’ usual strategy when a big company threatens to leave is to offer taxpayer handouts as an incentive to stay put. Information reported by Crain’s Chicago Business indicates that the same may be true for Baxter:

“A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity said it has not been approached with specific plans to move headquarters, but added that the agency had discussions with Baxter in March, when the company announced plans to split into two firms, one for drugs and the other for medical products.

“’We agreed to resume the discussions in a few months and are now doing so,’ said the spokesman, David Roeder, in an email. ‘We will work to keep their employees in Illinois.'”