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.
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.
