BDA advises Pfizer on divestment of animal vaccine business in China to Harbin Pharmaceutical

Business Development Asia LLC (“BDA”) is pleased to announce that its client, Pfizer Inc (“Pfizer”, NYSE: PFE), the global pharmaceutical company, has sold its market-leading swine vaccine business in China to an animal health subsidiary of Harbin Pharmaceutical Group (“Hayao”), Harbin Bio-Vaccine.

This divestment was required by the Anti-Trust Bureau of China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) as a condition for its approval of the US$68bn Pfizer/Wyeth merger that closed in October 2009.  It was the first time that a business in China has been sold as a consequence of Chinese competition authorities’ review of a global merger following the new Anti-Monopoly Law of August 2008.

The transaction had to be executed within a pre-determined statutory limit of six months, failing which an independent trustee appointed by the ministry would have effected the sale.

The assets sold comprised all those required to continue the manufacture and sale of Pfizer’s RespiSure™ and RespiSure-One™ swine mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MH) vaccines in China. The MH strain of swine pneumonia causes lung lesions leading to weight loss in adult pigs – a particular concern in China which has the world’s largest national swine herd, estimated at over 500 million.

Per the conditions of the divestment, Pfizer is providing technical assistance to the buyer in connection with the procurement of the raw materials for the production of the vaccines as well as training and consulting services to the relevant personnel.

BDA worked with Pfizer’s legal advisers Clifford Chance and King & Wood during the mandate. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

BDA Deal Team
Euan Rellie, Senior Managing Director, New York
Jeffrey Wang, Managing Director, and Head of Shanghai Office
Mark Webster, Managing Director, Shanghai
Sherry Zhou, Senior Associate, Shanghai
Alex Ditchfield, Associate, Shanghai
Alicia Cao, Analyst, Shanghai
Max Kubicki, Analyst, Shanghai

About Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. is a research-based, global biopharmaceutical company. Pfizer’s diversified global health care portfolio includes human and animal biologic and small molecule medicines and vaccines, as well as nutritional products and many of the world’s best-known consumer health care products. Pfizer works across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. As the world’s leading biopharmaceutical company, Pfizer also collaborates with other biopharmaceutical companies, health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world.

About Harbin Pharmaceutical Group
Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Holding Co Ltd, based in Harbin, China, is a leading domestic pharmaceutical company in China. The Company is a manufacturer and distributor of generic antibiotics drugs and one of the best-known branded marketers of over-the-counter and nutritional supplement products in China. The Company’s major subsidiaries Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd and Sanjing Pharmaceutical Co Ltd are listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In 2005, CITIC Capital and Warburg Pincus co-led a consortium to acquire control of the Company from the Harbin City Government, which remains the single largest shareholder. The group’s annual sales in 2008 exceeded $2 billion. It plays a key role in enacting China’s healthcare reform that began in April 2009. The government plans to spend US$12.5 billion in the next three years to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to the China’s 1.3 billion citizens.

About Business Development Asia
Business Development Asia LLC (“BDA”) assists multinational corporate and financial sector clients to identify and execute acquisitions, divestments, JVs, restructuring and capital raising, in Asia and internationally. The company is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Bahrain, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo. BDA employs 50 full-time professional staff across its eight offices, supplemented by a team of senior advisors around the world. BDA’s clients include Air Products, Areva, Cadbury Schweppes, Celestica, Clariant, DIC, DuPont, Ecolab, Godrej, Hanjin, Henkel, Hercules, Huntsman, Kennametal, Kimberly-Clark, Lear, Lubrizol, Mars, Molex, Nalco, Rexel, Reuters, Rohm & Haas, Ryder, Siemens, SigmaKalon, Sumitomo Chemical, Sun Chemical, Tata, AutoComp, Tenneco, Tredegar, Visteon , Weir WestLB, WR Grace, and the British Government. Further information on BDA is available at www.bdapartners.com

For more information regarding this transaction, please contact Jeffrey Wang or Mark Webster in Shanghai on +86 (21) 5407-5580, or Euan Rellie in New York on +1 (212) 265-5300.