Bayer chief executive Werner Baumann was dealt a blow on Friday at the German chemical giant's annual general meeting, amid tensions over last year's decision to buy US seeds and pesticides maker Monsanto, as disgruntled shareholders voted against management.
Germany’s biggest pharmaceuticals company has taken an enormous hit on the stock market after a court in the US ordered subsidiary company Monsanto to pay $290 million worth of damages to a terminally ill groundskeeper in California.
Monsanto's German owners insisted Saturday that the weed killer Roundup was "safe", rejecting a California jury's decision to order the chemical giant to pay nearly $290 million for failing to warn a dying groundskeeper that the product might cause cancer.
German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer will discard the name Monsanto when it takes over the controversial US seeds and pesticides producer this week, the group said on Monday.
German chemicals firm Bayer said on Monday it would not introduce genetically modified crops in Europe after its gigantic takeover of US seed and pesticide producer Monsanto.
Some of France's top chefs on Tuesday denounced the $66-billion takeover of controversial seed firm Monsanto by chemicals giant Bayer as a "danger for our dinner plates".
Monsanto said on Wednesday it was still open to a potential merger with Bayer, or to another big deal, as it reported lower earnings due to a tough agricultural market.
A proposed tie-up between Bayer and Monsanto may still face numerous hurdles but it has already inflamed opinion in Germany where most people oppose genetically modified foods.
German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer and the US group Monsanto said Thursday they are in talks on a possible merger to create a global player in pesticides, seeds and genetically modified crops, following weeks of speculation about a possible tie-up.
