Clifford Chance say in a press release that this is only the fourth conditional clearance – and the second on which the firm has advised – since the new competition regime was introduced in 2008
The clearance was issued by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on 29 September 2009.
Competition approval from the Chinese authorities was one of the key conditions of the Pfizer/Wyeth merger agreement.
The EU has already approved the deal; decisions are awaited from the Australian, Canadian and US competition authorities.
“The clearance is an important milestone for Pfizer’s merger with Wyeth, and also tells us a lot about the continued development of China’s competition procedures,” said Clifford Chance’s Beijing-based counsel Ninette Dodoo.
“This is the first time that the Ministry of Commerce has issued such clear conditions for the sale of competing businesses under a clearance.
“Our advice to companies seeking competition clearance is simple – establish dialogue with MOFCOM early in the process, respect its internal procedures and be responsive to its competition concerns.”
The Clifford Chance team, which worked closely with Pfizer’s PRC firm on the Chinese notification, included Ninette Dodoo, who relocated to Beijing from the firm’s Brussels office earlier this year, partner Emma Davies in Shanghai and associates Jiajia Gao and Yang Liu in Beijing. Partner Tony Reeves in Brussels is co-ordinating the global merger notifications of Pfizer’s acquisition of Wyeth outside the US, and partner Bill Blumenthal in Washington, D.C., also worked on the matter.
