August 10, 2019

Andrew Campbell 

According to individuals familiar with the agreements, Bayer AG proposes to pay as much as $8 billion USD to settle more than 18,400 U.S. lawsuits alleging that its Roundup herbicide causes cancer.

An agreement that could take a long time to reach would relieve investor stress on the German drug and chemical giant's huge litigation exposure with its acquisition of Monsanto Co, the weed killer’s manufacturer. The impact has erased more than $30 billion in market value, prompted an unprecedented vote of no confidence in the leadership of the company and encouraged speculation about a break.

The German drugs and chemicals company said it could pay $6 billion-$8 billion to resolve all present and future litigations, but the attorneys of the plaintiffs demanded at least $10 billion. For it is difficult to offset customers who have yet to be diagnosed with disease, and there is no guarantee that the two parties will immediately come into an agreement.

Previously, Bayer had counted on U.S. courts to reverse or soften the rulings that plaintiffs had received tens of millions of dollars each. Bayer has been negotiating with the attorneys of the plaintiffs.

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