NEW YORK (AP) — Pfizer Inc. is spinning off its animal health business into a separate company that will be called Zoetis (Zoe-EHT-iss).
The world's biggest drug maker previously announced that it would either spin off or otherwise divest the business between this July and July 2013.
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On Thursday Pfizer said it is preparing to submit a regulatory filing for a possible initial public offering of a minority stake in the new company. Pfizer, which is based in New York, says it will provide more details on the proposed transaction when it reports its second-quarter results.
Chairman and CEO Ian Read said in a statement that the spinoff should be complete by July 2013.
The animal health business has more than 9,000 employees and had 2011 revenue of about $4.2 billion.
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