Pfizer Wyeth Deal Clears China MOC

2009-09-30

Drug developer Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday China's ministry of commerce approved the company's $68 billion buyout of rival Wyeth.

Pfizer will divest certain animal health assets in China, the New York-based company said.

The buyout deal still needs regulatory approval in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. (AP)

This is big news, of course, but I do not re-post this announcement because of the acquisition itself.

Rather, I just wanted to point out how, under the Anti-monopoly Law, China is now a major player when it comes to regulatory oversight of global M&A. Not only are the regulators (Ministry of Commerce) taking their jobs seriously, but since a huge percentage of multinationals have significant operations in China these days, it is likely that a majority of multi-jurisdictional M&A deals will require China MOC approval.

When the due diligence folks evaluate potential regulatory obstacles to a particular deal now, China must be prominent on that list. We live in interesting times.

If I was younger (and still an expat living here), I might consider specializing in competition law — some exciting stuff in the pipeline. Anyway, since I am scheduled to give two lectures to my FDI law class in November on the Anti-monopoly Law, I guess I need to do some additional research.

Tags: China Law, Anti-monopoly Law