Global health care products company Covidien Ltd. wants to move out of Bermuda to move its corporate headquarters to Ireland.

The company said yesterday it wanted to take advantage of the country's favourable tax structure and location. Four of the company's 41,700 global workforce work on the Island at its Hamilton office.

Covidien, which was spun off by the Tyco conglomerate in June last year, becomes the latest of a series of international companies to announce their intention to move to Europe this month.

On December 10, industrial conglomerate Tyco International, engineering giant Foster Wheeler and oil company Weatherford International all announced their intention to move their headquarters to Switzerland. Two days earlier, shareholders of another oil company, Transocean, voted to make the same move.

The move from Bermuda should not affect Covidien's US operations or workforce outside Bermuda, or its financial results, the company said in a statement.

"Assuming shareholder approval, incorporation in Ireland will offer increased strategic flexibility and operational benefits as we continue to expand the rapidly growing international portion of our business," said Richard Meelia, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement yesterday.

Ireland has a "long history of international investment and a good network of tax treaties" with the United States, European Union and other countries where Covidien has major operations, the company said.

Fear of the effect on Bermuda of new US tax legislation that could be enacted by the new Obama administration in coming months appears to be the driving force behind the series of departures.

Commenting on Covidien yesterday, JPMorgan analyst Taylor Harris said in a note to clients that the move "follows a pattern of other companies leaving Bermuda due to the risk of adverse tax rulings down the road".

Covidien opened its new 7,000-square-foot offices at 131 Front Street just 11 months ago, when the company celebrated by giving a $20,000 cheque to the Committee of 25 for Handicapped Children.

Shares of Covidien fell $1.74 (4.7 percent) to $35.42 yesterday yesterday on expectations that the company would be removed from the Standard and Poor's 500 index as a result of the headquarters relocation.

JPMorgan estimated yesterday that around 65 million Covidien shares were likely to be sold by index-tracking funds.

Covidien says it foresees strong growth in markets outside the United States, which now account for about 50 percent of its sales.

Senior management, including Meelia, will remain in the company's operational headquarters in Mansfield, Massachusetts, Covidien spokesman Eric Kraus said.Covidien plans to establish tax residency in Ireland later this month and then seek shareholder approval for the reorganisation.

It expects to add additional finance and regulatory professionals in Ireland and to change its name to Covidien Plc.Of Covidien's more than 41,000 employees, nearly 2,000 are at seven sites in Ireland, where the company has operated for about 30 years. In the United States, it has about 20,000 employees and more than 30 facilities.

Covidien, which does not expect any material impact on its results from the reorganisation, plans to continue listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange and said it would continue to be subject to US Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements.

The company foresees no change to its effective tax rate now or over the next few years.S&P typically removes stocks from its indices in such cases, he said. Mr. Kraus said the company expected to recoup any share losses resulting from S&P's decision.