Drugmaker Valeant bids for animal health firm Zoetis

Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has made an approach to animal-health company Zoetis Inc, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Shares of Zoetis, with product lineup including vaccines for pets and livestock, were up 2 per cent at $56.65 in extended trading.

Zoetis, spun off from Pfizer in 2013, was valued at $24.85 billion as of yesterday's close, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Zoetis' response to the bid is not known.

Zoetis, the world's largest animal-health company, had been slashing costs and said last month it would cut a quarter of its workforce and exit nearly 40 per cent of its manufacturing plants.

The decision comes only a month after Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, Zoetis's biggest shareholder, and Sachem Head Capital Management added their second nominee on the company's 11-member board in exchange for not soliciting takeover offers.

Meanwhile Dow Jones reported that the trading in Zoetis shares was stopped shortly after the approach by Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

Though Zoetis' response was not clear, the stock rose around 2 per cent after trading hours to $56.45 per share. With company's current market capitalisation close to $28 billion, the shares were up 11 per cent during regular trading.

The first quarter saw Zoetis revenue at $1.1 billion, up 6 per cent as against the same period last year and excluding foreign exchange rates.

In April, Valeant announced the completion of its $11-billion acquisition of Salix,  pharmaceutical products and medical devices for the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.