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☆ This company wants to slash corporate bureaucracy and let employees manage themselves. Could it work?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The idea involves slashing the corporate bureaucracy, giving employees more control, and, hopefully, as a result, allowing the company to innovate efficiently. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. "We hire highly educated, trained people, and then we put them in these environments with rules and procedures and eight layers of hierarchy," Anderson said in an interview with Business Insider earlier this year. In a traditional corporate setting, the organizational chart flows upward: Lower-level employees have managers, those managers have managers, and so on until the top of the chain. In comes a key part of Anderson's proposal: Cut a big chunk of the middle managers and let employees choose the projects they want to pursue.

Persons: —, Alka, Seltzer, Claritin, Bill Anderson, Anderson, It's, That's, Bayer, Nicholas Bloom, Bloom, — Bloom Organizations: Service, Bayer, Business, Street Journal, Monsanto, Stanford University, American Economic Locations: New Jersey

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Bayer CEO Bill Anderson
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Bayer CEO Bill AndersonBayer CEO Bill Anderson joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss why the company hasn't broken up parts of the business, why the current strategy is the best way to go, and more.

Persons: Bill Anderson Bayer, Bill Anderson

☆ Bayer CEO on turnaround strategy: We've taken out multiple levels of hierarchy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBayer CEO on turnaround strategy: We've taken out multiple levels of hierarchyBayer CEO Bill Anderson joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss why the company hasn't broken up parts of the business, why the current strategy is the best way to go, and more.

Persons: Bill Anderson Organizations: Bayer

☆ Bayer calls off break-up to tackle challenges for up to 3 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Bayer AG logo sits behind silhouetted members of the management board during the company's annual general meeting in Bonn, Germany, May 25, 2018. The cutbacks will reduce annual costs by 2 billion euros from 2026, it added. To shore up its finances, that German drugmaker has slashed dividends, keeping what analysts estimate would have been combined payouts of 6-7 billion euros over three years. Bayer's net debt at the end of 2023 was up 8.5% to 34.5 billion euros. The company said it would seek to reduce net debt by 1-2 billion this year.

Persons: Bayer, Bill Anderson, Anderson, glyphosate Organizations: Bayer AG, Reuters, Monsanto Locations: Bonn, Germany

☆ Bayer CEO: Food is the most taken for granted resource on Earth
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBayer CEO: Food is the most taken for granted resource on EarthCNBC sits down with Bill Anderson, CEO at Bayer, Chris Abbott, CEO at Pivot Bio, and Kees Aarts, CEO and founder of Protix, to discuss the future of food.

Persons: Bill Anderson, Chris Abbott, Kees Aarts Organizations: Bayer, CNBC

☆ 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 stops blood thinner drug trial due to lack of effect, in major setback
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Logo and flags of Bayer AG are pictured outside a plant of the German pharmaceutical and chemical maker in Wuppertal, Germany August 9, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 19 (Reuters) - Germany's Bayer (BAYGn.DE) has aborted a large late-stage trial testing a new anti-clotting drug due to lack of efficacy, dealing a fresh blow to the embattled drugmaker and throwing its most promising medium-term development project in doubt. The trial halt, which followed recommendation of independent trial supervisors, marks another setback for a company burdened by a weak herbicide business, high debt and by U.S. lawsuits over the alleged carcinogenic effect of its commonly used Roundup weedkiller. Bayer said it will further analyse the data of the discontinued trial, known as OCEANIC-AF, which was initiated in August 2022. It said the independent trial supervisors recommended the continuation of a separate phase III trial, OCEANIC-STROKE, testing asundexian to prevent repeated strokes in participants who have already suffered one.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Germany's Bayer, Bill Anderson, Bayer, Stefan Oelrich, Johnson, Ludwig Burger, Jose Joseph, Miranda Murray, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Bayer AG, REUTERS, Bristol, Myers Squibb, Johnson, Thomson Locations: Wuppertal, Germany, United States, asundexian, U.S, Frankfurt, Bengaluru

☆ Bayer examines break-up options and prepares to cut management jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bayer will remove multiple layers of management and coordination for a "significant reduction" in the workforce, it said. "We are redesigning Bayer to focus only on what’s essential for our mission – and getting rid of everything else," said Anderson. Analysts have said Bayer shares are trading at a massive discount to rivals in agriculture, pharmaceuticals and consumer health activities, partly weighed down by a preference among many financial investors for pure-play companies. Bayer reported third-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and adjusted for one-off effects fell 31% to 1.685 billion euros, hit by lower earnings at its Crop Science division. Bayer added that it expects a "soft growth outlook and continued challenges" to profitability next year.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Bill Anderson, Anderson, Bayer, Werner Baumann, Ludwig Burger, Miranda Murray, David Goodman Organizations: Bayer AG, REUTERS, Rights, Bayer, Consumer, Roche, Science, Thomson Locations: Leverkusen, Germany

☆ 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

FRANKFURT, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Bayer's (BAYGn.DE) new CEO plans to cut management jobs to speed up decision-making as a first step to overhaul the embattled German industrial group, which is facing investor pressure to break up, three people familiar with the matter said. But the new CEO will likely have only a short respite period to come up with concrete strategic proposals. Anderson has been tasked with reviving Bayer's share price, which has underperformed rivals, weighed down by the lingering costs of U.S. weedkiller litigation. Anderson said last month he was not ruling out any options as part of his review of the company's strategy and structure, saying he was "leaving no stone unturned". He added he would provide an initial update in the coming months and detailed plans in early 2024.

Persons: Bill Anderson, Anderson, Roche, Oliver Kohlhaas, Kohlhaas, Werner Baumann, Ludwig Burger, Patricia Weiss, Emma, Victoria Farr, Josephine Mason, David Holmes Organizations: Bayer, McKinsey, Artisan Partners, Reuters, Bluebell Capital Partners, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Frankfurt

☆ 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

July 25 (Reuters) - Further deterioration in demand for glyphosate-based weed killers led Bayer (BAYGn.DE) to cut its full-year earnings outlook and announce a 2.5 billion euro ($2.8 billion) write-down on glyphosate-related assets. That was lower than a previous 2023 outlook of 12.5 billion euros, or slightly higher. Free cash flow would come in at zero, down from a previous prediction of 3 billion euros, the company said. "Based on the anticipated market development, in particular with respect to the glyphosate business, Bayer also expects to record a goodwill impairment of approximately 2.5 billion euros," it said. That would result in a second-quarter net loss of 2 billion euros.

Persons: Bayer, Bill Anderson, Roche, Markus Manns, Anderson, Hurricane Ida, Werner Baumann, Thomas Escritt, Ludwig Burger, Jonathan Oatis, Susan Fenton, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Union Investment, Barclays, FMC, BASF, Bayer, Thomson

BERLIN, July 24 (Reuters) - Weak demand for glyphosate-based weed killers led Bayer (BAYGn.DE) to cut its full-year earnings outlook for the second time and announce a 2.5 billion euro ($2.8 billion) write-down on glyphosate-related assets. That was lower than a previous 2023 outlook of 12.5 billion euros, or slightly higher. Free cash flow would come in at zero, down from a previous prediction of 3 billion euros, the company said. "Based on the anticipated market development, in particular with respect to the glyphosate business, Bayer also expects to record a goodwill impairment of approximately 2.5 billion euros," it said. That would result in a second-quarter net loss of 2 billion euros.

Persons: Bayer, Hurricane Ida, Bill Anderson, Roche, Werner Baumann, Thomas Escritt, Ludwig Burger, Jonathan Oatis, Susan Fenton Organizations: Bayer, FMC, BASF, Thomson Locations: BERLIN

☆ 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

☆ These 4 stocks could double in price — including one tech giant, says financial research firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Some corners of the market may have been overbought this year, but there are still long-term opportunities for investors, according to financial research firm Redburn. Redburn analysts have chosen 12 companies where changes in the competitive or financial environment or management action could realise outsize value for shareholders," Redburn wrote in a May 23 report. Vestas Redburn said it believes Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas is set for a "return to double-digit margins." "While there are inflationary pressures in some areas, supply-chain cost and performance are clearly improving and raw material costs are well below recent peaks," the firm wrote. Sabre Redburn sees a "clear path" for shares of Sabre , a travel tech company, to "more than double."

Persons: Redburn, Vestas Redburn, Vestas, Bill Anderson, –, Bayer, Sabre Redburn, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Amazon Web, Bayer, Sabre Locations: United States, Europe, 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

REUTERS/Tom KaeckenhoffLEVERKUSEN, Germany, April 5 (Reuters) - Incoming Bayer (BAYGn.DE) 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. "That's why I said I am going to have an open mind," he said. On the stock market Bayer, once the most valuable company on Germany's DAX blue-chip index, is now worth only about the same as it paid for Monsanto. At Bayer, he said he did not have his own desk and made use of the company's meeting rooms as needed. Professing a love of American football, hiking and snowboarding, he was also effusive about Bayer as a company and its heritage of medicines such as Aspirin.

FRANKFURT, March 24 (Reuters) - Bayer (BAYGn.DE) said the focus of its drug research would shift away from women's health, a traditional pillar of Germany's largest drugmaker, to hone in on neurology, rare diseases and immunology. "When it comes to research and the subsequent clinical phases, we will no longer have an explicit focus on women's health," the head of Bayer's pharmaceuticals unit, Stefan Oelrich, told Reuters on Friday. The shifted focus comes as Bayer is due to have a change at the top in June. Bayer, which acquired a large women's health business under the 2006 takeover of Schering Pharma, will focus drugs research on oncology, cardiovascular disease, neurology, rare diseases and immunology, the company said in a statement. Research efforts in immunology could still yield products in women's health but Bayer's dedicated work on the therapeutic area overall had fallen short of expectations, he said.

Companies Bayer AG FollowNEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) plans to spend $1 billion on drug research and development in the U.S. this year as it works to double its sales in the country by the end of the decade, Bayer's top U.S. pharmaceutical executive told Reuters. "It's time for us to double down on the U.S.," Guth said, noting that Bayer plans to sell the drugs it is developing itself in the country, rather than partner with U.S. companies like it has in the past. Bayer is looking to build up its portfolio of new drugs as it hopes to improve share prices, which have been hit by concerns over litigation surrounding weedkiller Roundup and a lack of trust in the company's leadership. Guth said he expects peak sales of 12 billion euros from cancer drug Nubeqa, kidney medication Kerendia, and two of its top pipeline assets, experimental stroke drug asundexian and experimental women's health drug elinzanetant. Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bayer braces for falling profits in challenge for new CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bayer said in a statement that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, would likely be between 12.5 billion euros and 13 billion euros ($13.2 billion - $13.8 billion) this year, excluding the effect of currency swings. Bayer said this month it would replace its CEO early, recruiting former Roche (ROG.S) executive Bill Anderson, amid demands by some investors that Bayer should simplify its diversified structure and split into separate groups. A $6.4 billion provision remained on the balance sheet for glyphosate payouts, the larger of the two legal burdens. So Bayer should really not be on the buy list of many investors at the moment," said Molnar. Bayer saw herbicide sales jump 44% in 2022 after hurricane Ida damaged rival producers and constrained Chinese suppliers failed to plug the gap.

☆ Bayer sees lower 2023 operating profit on cost inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Agriculture and healthcare company Bayer (BAYGn.DE) said operating earnings would likely decline in 2023, hurt by higher costs and the reversal of last year's price boost for its glyphosate-based weedkillers. In a statement on Tuesday, Bayer said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, would likely be between 12.5 billion euros ($13.23 billion) and 13 billion euros this year, excluding the effect of currency swings. In his last presentation of the company's quarterly results, Chief Executive Werner Baumann said the company is active in the right areas of business. For 2023, "the company anticipates lower prices for agricultural herbicides as well as for some of its established pharmaceutical products," Bayer said, also citing high inflation-driven cost increases. ($1 = 0.9447 euros)Additional reporting by Patricia Weiss Editing by Friederike Heine, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BofA says these global stocks can weather a choppy market — and are 'inexpensive'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As sentiment turns a little bearish, BofA screened for cheaper global stocks that proved resilient during the financial crisis of 2008. Europe has been one of the brightest spots in the global stock market this year, with Wall Street calling the region a better bet than the U.S. right now . BofA screen BofA screened for European stocks that met the following criteria: Inexpensive compared with the past 15 years' average 12-month forward price to earnings ratio. According to FactSet, analysts covering the stock gave it average potential upside of around 23%, and 62% rated it a buy. According to FactSet, analysts covering the stock gave it average potential upside of around 26%, and 78% rated it a buy.

☆ Bayer's new CEO has a full in-tray as investors push for change
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

February 9 - By Ludwig Burger and Patricia WeissFRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer's incoming CEO is inheriting a full in-tray from his predecessor: Thousands of lawsuits claiming its weedkiller causes cancer, an underwhelming drug development pipeline and disgruntled investors looking for major change. "The most important task for Bill Anderson is to regain investors' trust," said Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at Germany's Union Investment, a top 20 shareholder. Bayer's shares lag those of its global rivals, having fallen about 40% - knocking about 30 billion euros off its market valuation - since it bought Monsanto in 2018 for about $63 billion. Baumann's early exit has stirred debate about what the 56-year-old Anderson can do to restore investor trust and boost Bayer's shares. A stand-alone pharmaceuticals business, with 18.3 billion euros in 2021 sales, could also become a takeover target.

☆ German union opposes Bayer split after CEO departure - taz newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Germany's IGBCE union opposes any splitting-up of Bayer after the departure of its chief executive and warned that the company should not bow to pressure from hedge fund activism, taz newspaper reported on Thursday. "From the point of view of the employees, Bayer with its three pillars is perfectly positioned for the challenges of the future," said IGBCE executive board member Francesco Grioli, who is also a member of the supervisory board at Bayer. The company currently has three divisions - pharmaceuticals, consumer health and crop science. "You can only manage the transformation of the industry with a corporate policy based on risk diversification and sustainability - not on hedge fund activism," Grioli told taz. Bayer announced on Wednesday that it was replacing its CEO early, recruiting the former head of Roche's pharmaceuticals business, as investor criticism over the company’s lacklustre share price grew.

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