Zoetis

Zoetis building in Exton, PA

In the 1950s, Pfizer began research on several drugs, including oxytetracycline.[8] John McKeen, a chemical engineer, discovered its effective use in livestock. In 1952, the Pfizer Agriculture Division opened a research and development facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, called Vigo.[8][9] By 1988 the division was renamed Pfizer Animal Health.[8]

The acquisition of Norden Laboratories from GlaxoSmithKline in 1995 expanded Pfizer's animal health division into small animal care, including domestic pets.[8] Secondary research and development centres were opened in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 2003.[8] In the same year, Pfizer acquired Pharmacia Corporation for sixty billion dollars in stock options.[10] Between 2007 and 2011, the company acquired Embrex Inc, Catapult Genetics, Bovigen, Wyeth, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Vetnex Animal Health Ltd, Synbiotics Corporation, Microtek, King Pharmaceuticals, and Alpharma.[8]

Plans to spin off Pfizer Animal Health into a separate company were announced in 2012.[11][4] The name Zoetis was derived from the zoological term zoetic.[4]

Zoetis Inc.'s revenues exceeded $4.2 billion in 2011 and $4.34 billion in 2012.[12][13][4]

On 22 May 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer planned to sell its majority stake in the company,[13] in keeping with Pfizer's decision to shed other non-pharmaceuticals subsidiaries to save costs, raise capital, and pay off debt. The company announced that JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs & Co., and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters.[14][13]

In November 2014, activist investor Bill Ackman disclosed that Pershing Square Capital Management had taken an 8.5% stake in the company, amassing approximately 41.8 million shares, causing the share price to hit its highest price since the IPO.[15] On 17 November, the company announced it would acquire a portfolio of pet drugs from Abbott Laboratories for approximately $255 million.[16] On 1 January, 2020, Kristin Peck became CEO of Zoetis.[17]

Pfizer officially filed for registration of a Class A stock on 10 August 2012.[8][18] Zoetis' IPO on 1 February 2013 sold 86.1 million shares for US$ 2.2 billion.[19] Shares sharply rose 19% by the end of the trading day to $35.01 a share, up from $26.[4] At the time, it was the largest IPO from a U.S. company since Facebook's $16 billion IPO on 18 May 2012.[20] Pfizer retained 414 million Class B shares giving it an 83% controlling stake in the firm.[21][1] Stock investors were attracted to the steep profit margin in proportion to revenue and consumer confidence in potential future growth of the subsidiary.[4] The offering's lead underwriters were JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.[19] Most of the money raised through the IPO was used to pay off existing Pfizer debt.[4]

In November 2015, the company announced it would acquire developer of aquaculture treatments, Pharmaq, for $765 million.[22][23] In 2017, Zoetis acquired Ireland-based Nexvet, a company with a biologics-focused technology and product candidate pipeline.[24]

In May 2018, the company announced its intention to acquire Abaxis for $1.9 billion in cash.[25]

In April 2020, Zoetis acquired Performance Livestock Analytics. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.[26]