Reprising an introduction from 2021's "Pension Funds Allowed to Sue Bayer Over Due Diligence in Monsanto Acquisition":
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.
And from the Wall Street Journal, March 24:
The decision marks the latest legal setback for a company that has been for years fighting lawsuits stemming from its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto
Bayer shares fell sharply after the company was ordered to pay $2.1 billion by a jury in a Georgia state court, the latest legal defeat for the company in a case about its Roundup weedkiller.
The German agricultural and pharmaceutical group said the jury in a trial in the State Court of Cobb County, Georgia, on Friday reached a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. The verdict includes $2 billion in punitive damages and $65 million in compensatory damages, the company said.
Shares in Bayer were down 6.6% at 22.48 euros in European morning trade Monday, having fallen as much as 8.8% earlier. The stock is up about 16% since the start of the year, amid a rally in German shares.
“We disagree with the jury’s verdict, as it conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide,” Bayer said. “We believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get this verdict overturned and the excessive and unconstitutional damage awards eliminated or reduced.”
The company said damages in cases that reached final judgments were reduced by 90% overall compared with the original jury awards.
The decision marks the latest legal setback for a company that has been fighting for years lawsuits stemming from its $63 billion acquisition of U.S. agrochemical firm Monsanto, which developed Roundup, closed in 2018. Critics have argued that glyphosate, the active ingredient found in Roundup, causes cancer though Bayer has long maintained that glyphosate is safe to use....
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It's not as though the potential liability just crept up on the chemical behemoth. Here's a January 2019 post:
