Eli Lilly & Co., a leading pharmaceutical company has reportedly announced its plan to spin off its Greenfield-based animal health unit - Elanco, after going through a month-long review regarding its business in animal healthcare and agriculture. The company is expecting to complete the spinoff by the second half of this year, while the initial offering is anticipated to go public over the coming weeks.

Reportedly, the spinoff is considered to be one of the biggest strategic decisions taken by Dave Ricks, the Chief Executive Officer of Eli Lilly. The CEO revealed in a company statement that the decision for the spinoff had been taken mainly in favor of their shareholders.

For the record, Elanco sells medication for pets and livestock and had USD 3.09 billion in revenue last year. The company has scaled rapidly through its acquisition strategies, and have taken almost 10 companies since 2007 which includes the buyout of Novartis AG’s animal-health unit for USD 5.4 billion in 2015. A year after, the unit opened a 48,000-sq foot research facility next to its Greenfield Indiana, H.Q. to develop vaccines for livestock and pets.

According to the Eli Lilly, its per share earning has risen from $1.30 average in the second quarter to $1.50. The company has also raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast from a $5.10 to $5.20 in June to $5.40 to $5.50 a share.

As per an official statement, the pharma company plans to offer less than 20% of Elanco stock in an initial public offering. The firm later plans to sell the remaining shares through a tax-efficient transaction.

Further, Lilly stated that the company doesn’t plan to increase the price of any drug for the whole year and will remain focused on gaining profit through volume and not through higher drug prices.