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☆ Bayer CEO Says Breakup Wouldn’t Fix All of the Company’s Ills
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bayer CEO Bill Anderson is contending with his predecessor’s disastrous Monsanto acquisition and the need to re-energize Bayer’s drug pipeline. Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg NewsBERLIN— Bayer Chief Executive Bill Anderson said the company would bounce back quickly from a recent spate of bad news, and warned that a breakup of the pharmaceutical and agricultural company was no universal cure for its ailments. A stream of negative news has rekindled calls from investors for Bayer to unlock value by spinning off its units into separate businesses. But in an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, Anderson said the company couldn’t be distracted from the tough restructuring to fix the businesses.

Persons: Bill Anderson, Krisztian Bocsi, Anderson Organizations: Bloomberg, BERLIN — Bayer, Bayer, Wall

☆ Bayer Shares Tumble After Clinical Trial Failure, Loss in Roundup Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Adrià Calatayud | Jared S. Hopkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bayer’s court loss on its Roundup weedkiller was the fourth decision in a row to go against the company. Photo: wolfgang rattay/ReutersBayer shares fell sharply after the company stopped a late-stage study for a blood-thinning drug early because of lack of efficacy and was told to pay $1.56 billion in a lawsuit relating to its Roundup weedkiller. Bayer said late Sunday that it discontinued a Phase 3 clinical trial to test its experimental drug asundexian for prevention of stroke and systemic embolism for patients with the heart-rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation.

Persons: wolfgang rattay, Bayer Organizations: Bayer

☆ Bayer slow-motion breakup may leave clunky core
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bayer’s (BAYGn.DE) planned surgery risks leaving an ailing rump. Valued in line with peers, Bayer’s seeds, drugs and consumer units could be worth 54 billion euros, 38 billion euros and 16 billion euros respectively, according to Breakingviews calculations using LSEG data. Take off debt and pensions, and Bayer’s equity should total nearly 60 billion euros, some 47% above its current market capitalisation. But hiving off the seeds business would leave a pharma business hitched to a consumer unit, a model shunned by rivals Pfizer (PFE.N), Sanofi (SASY.PA) and GSK (GSK.L). They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: weedkiller, Bill Anderson’s, Anderson, Aimee Donnellan, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Pfizer, Sanofi, GSK, X, SEC, Paramount, Thomson

☆ Brazilian Lawmakers Advance Country’s Regulated Carbon Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Paulo Trevisani | Luciana Magalhaes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

A Brazilian carbon market would be an important addition to an expanding network of cap-and-trade systems around the world. Brazilian agricultural producers and miners hope the carbon market will help overcome headwinds in developed markets where consumers often associate them with deforestation. Exporters of manufactured goods using Brazilian grains, meat, iron-ore and other raw materials could also get a boost if carbon regulation improves the country’s environmental credentials, according to Brazilian business executives. Sen. Tereza Cristina —a former agriculture and livestock minister—defended the decision to exclude the sector from carbon regulation. “The farm sector isn’t ready for the regulated carbon market,” she said.

Persons: Eraldo Peres, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Flávio Roscoe, ”, Marcio Astrini, Tereza Cristina —, —, Fábio Passos, Passos, Paulo Trevisani, Luciana Magalhaes Organizations: Associated Press, United, Observatory, Sen, Business, Bayer’s, luciana.magalhaes@wsj.com Locations: Brazil, Associated Press Brazil, Nations, United Nations, Pennsylvania, Minas Gerais, Europe, Latin America, paulo.trevisani@wsj.com

☆ Exclusive-Bayer investor Artisan calls for break up
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Richa Naidu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayLONDON (Reuters) - Bayer is a “conglomerate” that needs to make major changes including “de-merging” two of its three business arms, investor Artisan Partners told Reuters on Friday. Artisan wants the drugs to-pesticides company to demerge its over-the-counter and pharmaceutical units, it said. “Recently we wrote a letter to the conglomerate Bayer -- and it is a conglomerate,” David Samra, founding portfolio manager of Artisan’s International Value team, said in an interview. Bayer has a “whole host of problems” including “too much debt,” Samra said. Artisan is Bayer’s sixth biggest investor, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, ” David Samra, Bayer, ” Samra, ” Organizations: Bayer AG, REUTERS, Wolfgang Rattay LONDON, Bayer, Artisan Partners, Reuters, Artisan’s Locations: Leverkusen, Germany

☆ Exclusive-Bayer investor Artisan calls for breakup of company
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Richa Naidu | Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Artisan wants the drugs-to-pesticides company to find new owners for its over-the-counter and pharmaceutical units, it said. Before taking over as CEO, Anderson said he was keeping an open mind on whether to break up the company. Artisan is Bayer’s 16th biggest investor, according to Refinitiv data. Samra said the chairman of Bayer’s supervisory board, Norbert Winkeljohann, has not directly written a letter back to Artisan, but said Artisan had “been in contact” with the company. Samra said Artisan “has not suggested specifically how (Bayer) should restructure their business” in the letter.

Persons: “, Wolfgang Rattay, Bill Anderson, Roche, Anderson, ” David Samra, Bayer, ” Samra, they’re, ” Bayer, Werner Baumann, Samra, Norbert Winkeljohann, China’s Syngenta, Johnson Organizations: Bayer, Artisan Partners, Reuters, Bayer AG, REUTERS, Bluebell Capital Partners, Artisan, Artisan’s, Science, pharma, Johnson, GSK Locations: Leverkusen, Germany, Swiss

☆ Bayer crop spinoff would be tricky but bountiful
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bayer’s (BAYGn.DE) new CEO may be considering some valuable crop rotation. The 49 billion euro seed-to-drug maker’s shares rallied 3% on Monday after a Friday report by German news service Platow Brief said the company may spin off its troubled crop science division. The crop science division was born of Bayer’s disastrous takeover of Monsanto in 2018, and the German conglomerate is still grappling with lawsuits alleging that its weedkiller caused cancer. If it offloads the crop science division, Bayer could indemnify the new owners against the cost of future litigation up to a certain point. Currently, the crop science division throws off a lot of the combined company’s cash.

Persons: maker’s, Bill Anderson, Bayer, Anderson, Aimee Donnellan, Liam Proud, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, Monsanto, Twitter, Thames, Thomson Locations: China

☆ Bayer’s New American CEO to Study Wounded Pharma Giant Before Acting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bill Anderson joined Bayer’s management board this week and starts as CEO in June. LEVERKUSEN, Germany— Bill Anderson , the American picked to head Bayer AG, treads softly as he begins a monthslong transition into his role as chief executive officer of the German owner of Monsanto, saying he will take his time before trying to fix the company’s most pressing problems. Mr. Anderson, a sprite, athletic 56-year-old hailing from the Gulf coast of Texas, this week joined the management board of Bayer, the 160-year-old chemical and pharmaceutical company known for inventing aspirin more than a century ago. He starts as CEO in June.

☆ Bayer’s New American CEO Treads Softly as He Takes On Wounded Pharma Giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Bayer Hires Former Roche Executive to Succeed CEO Werner Baumann
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( William Boston | Patrick Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bill Anderson is set to join Bayer’s management board in April and become CEO in June. BERLIN— Bayer AG said it is replacing the company’s embattled chief executive, Werner Baumann , with Bill Anderson, a 56-year-old American pharmaceuticals executive. Mr. Baumann, 60 years old, has served as CEO since 2016 after previously serving as the company’s finance chief. His current term was due to expire in April 2024. He led the company’s acquisition of Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018, which left Bayer mired in litigation and saddled with about $43 billion in debt.

☆ Bayer’s rude health lays better path for breakup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Activists like Jeff Ubben’s Inclusive Capital Partners may now, however, be in a better position to push for a breakup. Smaller peer Bluebell Capital Partners has also bought in recently. Using UBS forecasts, they would be worth 50 billion euros and 88 billion euros respectively. Its smaller consumer drugs division might fetch another 18 billion euros, using peer Reckitt Benckiser’s (RKT.L) 12 times multiple. Add them up, take off debt, pension liabilities and a further 6 billion euros of future Roundup litigation costs, and Bayer’s equity could be worth nearly 110 billion euros.

☆ GSK, Sanofi shares brighten as thousands of Zantac lawsuits are dismissed
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Shares of GSK and Sanofi surged in early trading on Wednesday, following the dismissal of thousands of U.S. lawsuits claiming that the heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer. Zantac, first approved in 1983, became the world’s best selling medicine in 1988 and one of the first-ever drugs to top $1 billion in annual sales. The decision bodes well for state cases too, they wrote in a note. Shares of Haleon, which comprises consumer health assets once owned by GSK and Pfizer and spun out as an independent company in July, also rose 5%. Barclays analysts said they viewed Zantac as substantially derisked, “leaving Haleon investible again for those without the appetite for pharma litigation risk.”

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