The actions of Bayer They fell up to 6% this Monday, after the German company was ordered to pay US$2.25 billion in damages, the highest amount so far in its ongoing lithium linked to a carcinogenic effect of its herbicide Roundup.
A Philadelphia court jury on Friday sentenced Bayer to pay $2.25 million to a Pennsylvania man who said he developed cancer from exposure to the herbicide Roundup. based on the chemical substance glyphosate.
Bayer shares fall up to 6%, its lowest level in about eight weeks. In this way it lost 70% of its value since the company cbought Monsanto in 2018.
The total amount includes $2 billion in punitive damages, which are likely to be reduced by appeal because they exceed the guidelines of the United States Supreme Court, but the verdict represents an added headache for CEO Bill Anderson, who is cutting management positions in a attempt to streamline the way business decisions are made.
Anderson is also reviewing the diversified group structurewhich is unpopular with many investors, but is likely to delay the presentation of separation plans at an investor update scheduled for early March, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
Bayer, which is burdened by the financial debt and lack of free cash flow, said it remains committed to taking the cases to trial, citing a record of winning 10 of the last 16 cases at trial.
In 2020, Bayer settled most of the then-pending Roundup cases for up to $9.6 billion, but failed to secure court approval for a settlement to avoid future cases. More than 50,000 lawsuits are now pending.
“Unfortunately, a new agreement would not put an end to the glyphosate litigation, because in a year or two, new plaintiffs would knock on Bayer’s door again,” said portfolio manager Markus Manns of the investment fund company Union Investment.
Among the measures adopted to avoid new lawsuits, Bayer has phasing out use of glyphosate on products for non-professional gardeners, but the new plaintiffs have based their claims on years of previous use.
Bayer continues selling glyphosate-based herbicides to farmers, who are highly dependent on him and who, according to Bayer, play a negligible role in the dispute.
Anderson, at the helm of the company since June last year, has adopted the tough stance of his predecessor, Werner Baumann, on new settlement agreements.
Among other challenges, it faces the weakness of the seed business of corn in the United States, the fall in prices of glyphosate-based herbicides and the recent failure of a key trial of a new anticoagulant drug.
Source: Ambito
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