Bayer managers face shareholders amid Monsanto fallout
CEO Werner Baumann, right, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Werner Wenning, left, shake hands during the annual general meeting of the Bayer stock company in Bonn, Germany, Friday, April 26, 2019. Following the record acquisition of U.S. biotech and seed company Monsanto, Bayer's agricultural business has become a risk for the German chemical company. Bayer is facing enormous cost if the U.S. court will find Monsanto's glyphosate to be causing cancer. Since the take-over of Monsanto in June 2018, Bayer lost around half of its value in market capitalization. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Participants walk on dead bees placed by protestors prior the annual general meeting of the Bayer stock company in Bonn, Germany, Friday, April 26, 2019. Following the record acquisition of U.S. biotech and seed company Monsanto, Bayer's agricultural business has become a risk for the German chemical company. Bayer is facing enormous cost if the U.S. court will find Monsanto's glyphosate to be causing cancer. Since the take-over of Monsanto in June 2018, Bayer lost around half of its value in market capitalization. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Bayer's top managers are facing shareholders amid discontent over the fallout from the German company's acquisition of Monsanto, the maker of Roundup weed killer.
Chairman Werner Wenning told the annual general meeting in Bonn on Friday that company leaders "very much regret" falls in its share price. At the same time, CEO Werner Baumann insisted that "the acquisition of Monsanto was and remains the right move for Bayer." Bayer acquired Monsanto for $63 billion last year.
Bayer is fighting lawsuits over the alleged carcinogenic effects of Roundup. The company says scientific evidence shows the product's active ingredient, glyphosate, is safe.
Environmentalists protested outside the convention center where the meeting was being held. Beekeepers brought thousands of dead bees whose death they blamed on chemicals in the environment.