Dhe capital market got what it asked for. The replacement of Werner Baumann as CEO is faster than planned, and with Bill Anderson, a manager from outside comes to the top of the pharmaceutical and agrochemical group Bayer. So one that had nothing to do with the controversial purchase of the American seed company Monsanto. As a US citizen, Anderson knows the rules of the game in one of the most important countries for Bayer.
According to the plan of the supervisory board, which unanimously appointed him as the new CEO effective June 1, the chemical engineer, who was most recently a member of the board of directors of the Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche, should accelerate innovations and improve performance in all business areas.
“Bill Anderson’s mission is clear: Bayer should develop its full potential and create sustainable value for our shareholders, farmers, patients, consumers, employees and all company stakeholders,” said Norbert Winkeljohann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, in a statement.
The start of an exciting time
The personnel is the prelude to an exciting time in the Dax group, as it is about the future strategy. Various interests run counter to each other in the background. The current Board of Management and Supervisory Board have been campaigning for years for Bayer to have the best growth opportunities as an integrated company. So in the line-up with the pharmaceutical division, with the agricultural business strengthened by the multi-billion dollar takeover of Monsanto, and the consumer business. According to Bayer, all pillars are important, especially in times of crisis.
The course of business supports this view: In view of the Ukraine war, the importance of food security has increased, Bayer is benefiting from high seed prices, and the pharmaceuticals division is also on the up. At the end of February, the group should present good annual figures.
On the other hand, Bayer has long been flanked by split-up fantasies; the demands in recent weeks have been more specific, especially from the hedge fund Bluebell Capital. Bluebell not only feels confirmed by the new appointment to the board position, but also encouraged. The debate became visible on Thursday on the stock exchange. First, Bayer shares rose 5.1 percent in the morning after closing 6 percent higher following Bayer’s announcement on Wednesday. During the course of the day, the price turned negative, some investors probably took profits, as the price was higher than it had been since last summer.
Bayer’s future structure is open
It is unclear what Bayer will look like in the future. Activist funds argue that Bayer should be valued higher in segregated divisions. Not only the conglomerate discount, which is usually there, depresses the market capitalization, but also the community structure. Bayer is compared with international competitors such as the agricultural division of the American company Corteva. In terms of earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation, it is rated significantly better than Bayer on the stock exchange, although the Leverkusen business is more profitable.
Alone: Not all legal risks relating to glyphosate have yet been resolved, which is probably the biggest price burden for the Bayer Group. Freeing the pharmaceuticals division from this is another argument put forward by those in favor of the split, but there is a certain degree of uncertainty associated with the spin-off of the agricultural division in view of the legal risks.
#High #expectations #Bayer #boss