Comment: chemical giant Bayer in the Monsanto case

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A new judgment from a U.S. court in matters of glyphosate and cancer means for the Bayer group is a severe setback. Always clear Of Monsanto is:-the purchase was a mistake, says Henrik Böhme

The judgment of the shareholders, and analysts is more than clear: get Out of Bayer shares from the vaults! Like a stone, the paper of the Monsanto-mother group fell into the deep, about twelve percent of the loss in the tip – there are times, as measured by the stock market value of around eight billion euros burned. Here, owners of shares of the Leverkusen pharmaceutical and agro – chemical giants are accustomed to grief. Since the with a lot of fanfare accompanied the Takeover of the US seed company Monsanto – the the with the weed killer glyphosate, and the bad Image – have the investors have the joy of the shares Of more than 100 euros last summer, Bayer papers are slipped to 60 Euro.

Lost faith

It seems that more and more people lose Faith in a sense of the Monsanto Takeover. For a record amount of 63 billion Dollar Bayer had consumed in the past year, the pariah of the industry. Bayer CEO Werner Baumann hoped, however, to the crowning of his life’s work. Now there’s only about to limit the damage. The removal of some of the Thousands of Jobs it has already announced. Apparently, you have underestimated in Leverkusen, the legal risks in connection with the numerous glyphosate-lawsuits against Monsanto in the United States. A first process, last August, Monsanto had lost, even if the court reduced the imposed penalty payment later, so it remained in principle a conviction.

Henrik Böhme, DW-business editorial

Now, as Bayer, Monsanto has been fully integrated and complete insight into the books, the now precipitated a new judgment on the Aspirin-inventors as a clap of thunder. Although you have placed the precaution time of 660 million euros for possible fines on the page, but whether that will be enough in view of the ongoing process of shaft, is more than questionable. Now the judgment (the amount of the penalty payment is not yet fixed) is the direction for 760 more cases. And that would be only the beginning: in total, Bayer faces more than 11,000 plaintiffs faced. The next ruling is expected by the end of March.

They were, in Leverkusen last still reasonably optimistic to get the thing in the handle: It had been hoped, because the process was divided into two phases, that the court office lay-Jury to the conclusion that Roundup (the trade name for the Weed killer) for cancer of the plaintiff, Edwin Hardeman responsible. But it came the other way. Now, one is disappointed at Bayer “”. But why? Because they have not expected that the Jury could decide against Monsanto, respectively, Bayer? You would then probably blue-eyed.

The destruction of billions of

The Jury should be directed in the second part of the process also come to the conclusion that Monsanto has concealed the risks posed by glyphosate, then it is likely to Zap duster appearance for Bayer. Red alert in Leverkusen!

To the extent that it is not yet, and Bayer is fighting in court to further prove the contrary. But the air is thinner and probably will have the group bring to pay billions in compensation to the gruelling court processes to a fast end.

For the Moment, the Case of Monsanto is a teaching example of how the delusions of grandeur of a Manager can be a Boomerang. Werner Baumann wanted to prove that he has the courage to swallow unlike its predecessor, the unloved U.S. competitors. But now the pariah is to him hard in the stomach. Now, Baumann is considered as the biggest value destroyers in the history of the German share index.