Bayer’s market capitalization has plunged amid investor worries about its potential liabilities related to weedkiller Roundup. Above, a farmer sprays Roundup. Photo: jean-francois monier/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images By Ruth Bender Updated May 19, 2019 6:11 p.m. ET BERLIN—Less than a year after Bayer AG acquired Monsanto Co. and its Roundup weedkiller, the German company is stuck at what could be one of its darkest hours.
Bayer is appealing the verdicts and argues that hundreds of studies and regulatory bodies around the world including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have concluded that Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, are safe. Markus Manns, a fund manager with Union Investment, a major Bayer shareholder, said, “With every new verdict, people are less confident that Bayer will get away with a settlement below €5 billion”—about $5.58 billion.
That is partly because shareholders including DWS, Deutsche Bank AG’s asset-management branch, said a management reshuffle would only deepen the crisis. Moreover, many investors believe that any such change would likely have to include Bayer Chairman Werner Wenning, a mentor to Mr. Baumann and another driving force behind the Monsanto deal. Investors also are divided over whether the acquisition will ever pay off for Bayer.
Most analysts and shareholders agree with Bayer that it would be unwise to settle before some appeals have been heard. Company attorneys told reporters Wednesday that Bayer would participate “in good faith” in mediation ordered by a judge overseeing hundreds of Roundup cases but that the outcomes of appeals are critical before any possible settlement.
Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place (such a lovely place) Such a lovely face. Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Whoever was behind the Monsanto deal at Bayer is an idiot