Ruth Bender, Laura Kusisto and Sara Randazzo reported on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal that, “Bayer AG said Wednesday it would pay up to $10.9 billion to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits with U.S. plaintiffs alleging the company’s Roundup herbicide causes cancer, a milestone in the German company’s legal battle that has been weighing down its share price for nearly two years.
“Investors have long been waiting for a settlement to bring clarity over how much the litigation will cost Bayer, following its 2018 purchase of U.S. agricultural giant Monsanto Co.
“The deal brought the company thousands of Roundup-related lawsuits. Three jury-trial losses tanked shares and sparked a revolt among shareholders angry at Bayer’s management for plunging the company into one of the worst crises in its history with the $63 billion Monsanto acquisition.”
The Journal writers noted that, “Wednesday’s deal, which follows months of heated talks between Bayer and plaintiffs’ attorneys, doesn’t change anything in Bayer’s view that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is safe and doesn’t cause cancer.
“Bayer didn’t admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement and continued to defend its decision to purchase Monsanto. The company will continue to sell Roundup.
“The agreement, however, leaves open the potential of more lawsuits being filed against the company in the future, an issue investors have been particularly concerned about.”
Bender, Kusisto and Randazzo added that, “As part of the deal, Bayer said it has set aside between $8.8 billion and $9.6 billion to settle claims brought by lawyers representing some 95,000 plaintiffs, as well as some 30,000 more claims that haven’t yet agreed to the settlement. The company said it would set aside another $1.25 billion to work toward a resolution of future claims, including funding a panel to evaluate whether the product causes cancer. The findings from that panel are geared to help shape the outcome of litigation going forward.
“Separately, Bayer largely resolved two other legacy Monsanto cases Wednesday, involving a toxic banned chemical and a different weedkiller.”
