Bayer, the German drugmaker that bought U.S. seed company Monsanto earlier this year, announced on Thursday the sale of a number of businesses, around 12,000 job cuts and 3.3 billion euros ($3.8 billion) in impairments, Reuters reported.
Chief Executive Werner Baumann is under pressure to boost Bayer’s share price after a drop of more than 35 percent so far this year, dragged down by concern over more than 9,000 lawsuits it faces over the cancer-causing effect of Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer.
Sustainable Pulse Director, Henry Rowlands, commented on the shocking news on Thursday; “This just shows what happens when a company doesn’t do its homework before making a huge investment. Bayer will struggle to recover from the Monsanto fiasco and investors in the company are obviously now very concerned. The only way out of this mess for Bayer is to stop selling glyphosate-based herbicides.”
The group said it was looking at options – that could include a sale – for the Coppertone sunscreen and Dr. Scholl’s foot care products from the consumer healthcare division it bought from Merck & Co in 2014 for $14 billion.
It will also divest its animal health division, the number five player in the industry, which analysts have said could fetch 6-7 billion euros ($7.9 billion).
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The unit, the largest maker of flea and tick control products for cats and dogs and a supplier of livestock veterinary drugs, had sales of 1.57 billion euros in 2017, accounting for about 4.5 percent of group revenues.
Bayer will also seek a buyer for its 60-percent stake in German chemical production site services provider Currenta.
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