chief executive Bill Anderson says he is keeping an open mind on whether to break up the company into smaller pieces, as some fidgety investors want.
"I think it's an overgeneralisation to say this is what everybody thinks should happen," he said, saying that some investors wanted a split while others wanted better execution. He replaces Werner Baumann, who promised "evolution not revolution" at the start of his tenure in 2016 but soon after launched the $63 billion takeover of seeds and pesticides maker Monsanto.
"For me, it's about: hey we got three amazing businesses, they are delivering really important products, medicines," Anderson said. "We see it as positive that Bill Anderson appears to want to focus first on accelerating progress with solving litigation and improving productivity in R&D, but is also leaving the door firmly open for larger-scale restructuring of the group in the future," said Terence McManus, the Senior Portfolio Manager for Healthcare at Bellevue Asset Management.
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