Bayer AG has no current plans to spin off Monsanto, despite facing a raft of lawsuits over its glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup, a representative said on Tuesday. The representative said that while restructuring may be a viable option, there are currently no plans to do so and the company is focused on improving performance and dealing with the wave of lawsuits it is currently facing.
At a forum on Tuesday, Bayer Chief Executive Bill Andersen reiterated the threat posed by Roundup herbicide lawsuits to the German pharmaceutical and crop science giant. The lawsuits involve about 100,000 plaintiffs, the company said.
"If the glyphosate litigation issue is not resolved, there will be no U.S.-produced glyphosate," Anderson said. Bayer is currently the only U.S. company producing glyphosate.
In 2018, Bayer spent $63 billion to acquire Monsanto, which included the herbicide Roundup. That was followed by lawsuits from consumers who claimed Bayer failed to warn consumers that Roundup's active ingredient could cause cancer.
The company is trying to stem the tide of lawsuits in the U.S. through a multi-pronged strategy that includes reaching huge settlements and working state-by-state to change the legal landscape surrounding its liability.
The company is also appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the Missouri jury's verdict. The ruling ordered the company to pay $1.25 million to a man who said he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after years of exposure to glyphosate in the weedkiller Roundup.
The company also proposed a $7.25 billion settlement aimed at ending most of the pending litigation against it, but some plaintiffs have objected.
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