August 1, 2011

Pfizer: No plans to break up animal health unit

Pfizer Inc. said it has no intentions to break up the company's animal health unit after Eli Lilly & Co. indicated interest in buying some of its products, according to a Bloomberg report.

Lilly is monitoring Pfizer's plans to divest its unit and will pursue assets deemed of interest, according to Eli Lilly's Chief Financial Officer Derica Rice.

Pfizer wants a sale or spin-off of the unit and doesn't foresee breaking it up, said Joan Campion, spokeswoman from Pfizer.

Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Ian Read said on July 7 he is divesting the company's animal health and nutrition units to buy back shares and focus on developing new drugs. The units may fetch US$22 billion, according to Seamus Fernandez, an analyst at Leerink Swann & Co.

"While we are evaluating a variety of options including a sale, spin-off or other transaction, we believe we will favour one overall option rather than dividing assets and business operations," Campion said in an e-mail.

Pfizer's review of its options for the unit will take 12-24 months, Campion said. The company does not plan further announcements about the unit until 2012, she said.

"We will watch how that situation evolves, and if there are some assets that become available that we are interested in, yes, we will pursue them," Lilly's Rice said.