Bayer announces plans to cut dividend by a staggering 95% over the next three years as it seeks to recoup debts from its acquisition of Monsanto that put the German company at the center of multiple lawsuits over its Roundup herbicide did.
According to the company, the dividend cut was expected bloombergsaid the cuts highlight the company’s struggle to recover from its $63 billion acquisition of Roundup maker Monsanto in 2018.
Bayer said it would pay investors only the legal minimum required by German law and pay a dividend of 12 cents per share in 2023, down from last year’s $2.60.
According to Bloomberg, CEO Bill Anderson, who was appointed to the role in June 2023, said the decision to pay only the statutory minimum for the next three years was “not taken lightly”. Stated.
Bayer’s stock price was little changed on the news, but the stock has fallen more than 16% since the beginning of the year.
Since the Monsanto deal, the stock has lost about two-thirds of its value, according to Bloomberg.
Since the acquisition, Bayer has been mired in litigation costs and rising interest rates, amounting to about $42 billion worth of debt, according to a recent filing seen by Bloomberg.
Since 2018, approximately 165,000 claims have been filed against the company for personal injuries allegedly caused by Roundup. That same year, the first lawsuit was filed claiming that glyphosate causes cancer.
Roundup, the herbicide most widely used to kill weeds in the United States, reportedly contains 41% glyphosate, and Bayer has repeatedly maintained that it is safe for human use. ing.
Approximately 50,000 Roundup-related claims are pending, according to regulatory filings.
Representatives for Bayer did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The company’s recent legal battle ended with a unanimous Pennsylvania jury ruling that Roundup gave John McKibbinson, 49, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a $2.25 billion penalty against Bayer. ordered to pay damages in the amount of $.
When McKibbinson sued Bayer, he claimed in court documents that he developed cancer after using the herbicide on his property for 20 years.
The jury also found that Monsanto failed to warn customers about the dangers of Roundup.
Bayer can appeal the damages in a post-trial motion before the payment to McKibinson is finalized.
Bayer said in a statement at the time that the damages were “unconstitutional and excessive” and noted that the company “has a successful track record in Roundup litigation, winning 10 of the past 16 cases in court.”
In December, Bayer won a lawsuit against a California man who claimed he developed cancer as a result of exposure to the company’s herbicide Roundup, ending Bayer’s losing streak at five points. Bayer recently lost more than $500 million in three previous lawsuits.
In November, a Cole County, Missouri, jury similarly found Monsanto liable for negligence, design flaws and failure to warn plaintiffs about the potential dangers of using Roundup, according to court documents. handed down a judgment.
Valorie Gunther of New York, Jimmy Drager of Missouri, and Daniel Anderson of California were awarded $61.1 million in compensatory damages, alleging that Roundup caused their diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. and were each awarded $500 million in punitive damages.
Drager’s wife, Brenda, also received $100,000 in compensation for damages caused by her husband’s illness.
According to the Mayo Clinic, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma usually begins with white blood cells and causes symptoms such as enlarged lymph nodes, fatigue, dramatic weight loss, difficulty breathing, and night sweats.
The company had previously been found not liable in nine consecutive trials.
