Bayer agrees $10 billion-plus deal to put Monsanto Roundup litigation behind it

German crop sciences and pharma major Bayer (BAYN: DE) has announced a series of agreements that will substantially resolve major outstanding Monsanto litigation, notably the US Roundup weedkiller product liability claims, that have plagued the company, as well as, dicamba drift litigation and PCB water litigation.

The news initially lifted the shares of Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in $63-billion deal in 2018, the stock was down 1.2% at 69.15 euros by early afternoon.

The main feature is the US Roundup resolution that will bring closure to approximately 75% of the current Roundup litigation involving around 125,000 filed and unfiled claims overall. The resolved claims include all plaintiff law firms leading the Roundup federal multi-district litigation (MDL) or the California bellwether cases, and those representing approximately 95% of the cases currently set for trial, and establish key values and parameters to guide the resolution of the remainder of the claims as negotiations advance. The resolution also puts in place a mechanism to resolve potential future claims efficiently.