Nestle SA has agreed to buy Pfizer’s infant-nutrition business with $11.9 billion, a move could help Nestle regain the Chinese baby food market, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Pfizer on Sunday chose Nestle over Danone SA , which also bid about $11 billion, Bloomberg quoted an anonymous source as saying.

The purchase will help Nestle, already the top seller of infant-nutrition products, regain traction in the Chinese baby- food market where Pfizer has a 7 percent share, according to the report.

Nestle has been losing market share in the country since 2005, when it withdrew two varieties of Neslac milk powder after authorities found they contained excessive iodine.

China's infant nutrition market is a highly competitive one led by Dumex and Mead-Johnson.

Statistics show Nestle had become the 3rd largest infant nutrition manufacturer in the Chinese market with a 10.58% share, following 16.76%-share Dumex and 12.06%-share Mead-Johnson by the end of July in 2010.