Pfizer (PFE) Reviewing All Divestiture Possibilities

Pfizer Inc.'s (NYSE:PFE) president of worldwide research and development, Mikael Dolsten, says the ongoing review of possible divestitures to strengthen the value of the company will be completed some time in 2011.

Dolsten said, "We are going through a comprehensive review that we aim to complete during this year."

Citing CEO Ian Read, Dolsten added that "we have an innovative core of our company with adjacent businesses, that each of them are doing really well.

"But we need also to understand what is the maximum value for those businesses, which of them actually have a higher value by being inside Pfizer and can benefit from the capabilities and our financial strengths, our reach in the market, and which would do better as businesses and create more value for shareholders to be outside the company."

This confirms the probability suggested by Sanford Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson said earlier this week that Pfizer may sell or spin off non-core businesses. Anderson believes they could trim the existing revenue base from $67 billion to a range of $35 billion to $40 billion.

Pfizer closed Thursday at $19.88, gaining $0.58, or 3.01 percent.