There have been some bad mergers and/or acquisitions over the years, AOL - Time Warner comes to mind both for its top-tick timing and the $54 billion write-down of some of the intangibles in the deal two years after consummation, but Bayer's purchase of Monsanto may be the worst in history.
From DTN Progressive Farmer, Oktober 20:
Pension Funds Sue Over Bayer-Monsanto
OMAHA (DTN) -- A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that pension funds can move ahead with a class-action lawsuit against Bayer AG for allegedly making misstatements and failing to meet a standard of due diligence when Bayer acquired Monsanto and its liability risks over glyphosate.
The ruling out of the U.S. District Court for Northern California involves The Sheet Metal Workers National Pension Fund, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 710 Pension Fund and a pair of pension funds for the City of Grand Rapids Michigan. The pension funds maintain Bayer did not conduct proper due diligence in the $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto, especially around Monsanto's legal risks.
In August 2018, just two months after the Bayer-Monsanto merger was finalized, a San Francisco jury awarded a school groundskeeper, Dewayne Johnson, $250 million in punitive damages, finding that Roundup had caused his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bayer and Monsanto at the time maintained the safety of glyphosate and argued that it did not cause Johnson's cancer. Johnson had originally sued Monsanto in 2016.
That case was followed by another pair of lawsuits against Monsanto, resulting in damage rulings of $78 million and $80 million over non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. That sparked other lawsuits that were eventually consolidated. Bayer in June 2020 announced it would pay a $10.9 billion settlement for claims against Roundup, but the presiding judge indicated he was unlikely to approve the settlement against future claims.
Bayer's stock price in September 2016 when the merger was originally announced was trading at $91 euros ($106). Bayer's stock since the merger closed has steadily declined to $47.38 euros ($55) on Tuesday....
....MUCH MORE
