Animal health giant ($ZTS), which has been rolling out a major cost-cutting plan over the past year, has made its first major move toward drastically reducing its manufacturing overhead. The company disclosed on December 22 that it has sold two factories in North Carolina and Colorado to Huvepharma, based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Huvepharma will also take over the lease at a facility in Arkansas, and it will acquire the products that are primarily produced at the three plants. The deal, valued at $40 million, will close in the first quarter of 2016. It's all part of Zoetis' strategy to exit a total of 10 manufacturing facilities and eliminate 2,500 jobs and 5,000 underperforming SKUs. A spokeswoman for the company declined to say how many employees would be affected by the Huvepharma transaction. Read more at FiercePharmaManufacturing.
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