Bayer greedily bought and swallowed the ‘poison pill’ of Monsanto without considering its true liability. Fifty-seven billion Euro’s of market cap down the drain later, now their headache is taking on epic proportions.
Growing uncertainty about whether San Francisco Superior Court Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos would rule in favor or against Bayer’s appeal of the Monsanto Cancer Verdict were resolved Tuesday morning.
The judge upheld the jury’s decision that the glyphosate-based weedkiller (aka Roundup) sold by Monsanto caused a California man’s terminal cancer and that Monsanto intentionally hid its dangers.
The news quickly spread and caused an immediate crash in Bayer’s stock value.
This was the biggest destruction of capital in German stock market history. Bayer has lost €57.7 billion in market cap mainly driven by its acquisition of Monsanto.
The good news is that this ruling affirms the company’s liability for causing illness from their product, and opens the door for more lawsuits and stricter regulation of agro-chemicals in the future.
Monsanto’s liability could reach $800 billion dollars. To put this in perspective, the original Bayer-Monsanto buyout offer was $57 billion dollars. Clearly, this no longer looks like an “asset” to Bayer and its stockholders.
Prepare for Change / ABC Flash Point Industrial News 2018.
Improving food standards?
Improving profits?