FTC Clears Pfizer-Wyeth Deal, With Conditions

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday cleared Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) $68 billion deal to acquire rival Wyeth (WYE), but required the companies to divest assets in the animal-health market as a condition of government approval.

The FTC said the divestitures will protect competition in the market for animal vaccines and other animal health products.

The commission said Pfizer has agreed to sell half of Wyeth's Fort Dodge U.S. animal-health business to Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., within 10 days of the acquisition.

The FTC said the merger raised no competitive concerns in any human-health-product markets.

"Although the commission, based on the evidence gathered, determined that this transaction did not raise anticompetitive concerns in the markets for human pharmaceuticals, the commission remains dedicated to ensuring that pharmaceutical markets are competitive," the FTC said in a written statement.

-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222; [e-mail]