Bayer CEO rebuked over Monsanto acquisition
Majority of shareholders vote against absolving Werner Baumann and other managers of responsibility for their actions in the $63bn takeover in 2018
Munich/Berlin/Frankfurt — As the Bayer management digs in against a growing shareholder rebellion over the acquisition of Monsanto, attention will shift from the German company’s headquarters back to US courts. That is where the German pharma and chemicals giant faces 13,400 lawsuits claiming that Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. Even as it fights the cases, the company’s shareholders handed CEO Werner Baumann an unprecedented rebuke last week. Bayer rose 2.3% to €60.12 in early Frankfurt trading. Including the impact of Bayer’s dividend payment, which took effect on Monday, the stock fell 2.2%. Here’s where things stand. What happened? At a fractious, 13-hour gathering in Bonn on Friday, more than 55% of shareholders voted against absolving Baumann and other managers of responsibility for their actions in the $63bn takeover in 2018. Bayer’s board circled the wagons afterward, saying it maintains full confidence in Baumann. Several top investors consider the move a sign ...
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