Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) shares had a bit of a boost on Wednesday after it was announced that one of its subsidiaries would be acquiring Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI). Effectively, this pharmaceutical giant is looking to sell a portfolio of U.S. canine, feline and rabies vaccines, as well as a fully integrated manufacturing and research and development site to Elanco.

Under the terms of the agreement, BIVI will be acquired for a total of $885 million, which includes the estimated cost of acquired inventory. At the same time, the deal is conditioned on antitrust approval and closing of the Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) asset swap transaction with Sanofi that was signed in June 2016.

The sale to Elanco is anticipated to close by early 2017 but is still subject to regulatory approval.

For some further background on BIVI: the company develops, manufactures and markets novel and innovative solutions for the prevention and treatment of disease in the cattle, equine, pet and swine markets. BIVI is the fifth largest animal health company in the United States.

Dr. Albrecht Kissel, president and CEO of BIVI, commented:

This agreement is an important step toward a successful acquisition of Merial. This was a highly complex decision from a business and from an emotional perspective. It was certainly not taken lightly particularly in view of the history and significant positive developments of this business over the past years.

He added:

We are confident that, under Elanco’s leadership, customers will continue to have access to these innovative vaccines and the portfolio will have strong support.

So far in 2016, Eli Lilly has underperformed the broad markets, with the stock down about 1%. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is down close to 3%.

Shares of Eli Lilly traded up up about 1% to $81.90 on Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $97.80 and a 52-week trading range of $67.88 to $88.16.

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