Berlin (AFP)
The US-backed mediator in the glyphosate lawsuit on Friday denied press reports that Bayer is ready to settle 18,400 petitions for the herbicide of its subsidiary Monsanto in the United States.
"Bayer has not offered $ 8 billion to all Americans involved in Roundup-related litigation, it's pure fiction," Kenneth Feinberg told German newspaper Handelsblatt.
"The subject of compensation was not discussed during the discussions in the context of the mediation, which should last until September," he said.
On Friday morning, the Bloomberg news agency claimed that the German chemical and pharmaceutical group could offer applicants up to $ 8 billion to avoid future lawsuits related to glyphosate, while it has already lost three in California.
The action of the group had risen in the morning, taking briefly more than 11% after two sessions already well-stocked. Around 13:50, he erased his gains and moved up 1.87% to 64.15 euros.
Asked by AFP, Bayer said "do not comment on rumors", and refers to its latest statements on the subject on July 30, during the presentation of its results for the second quarter.
The group then reaffirmed its intention to appeal the first three convictions, based on hundreds of favorable studies and the endorsement of regulators around the world since the introduction of the glyphosate herbicide in the mid-1980s. 1970.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an offshoot of the WHO, on the other hand, considered in 2015 that glyphosate was "probably carcinogenic", a central point of the procedures. However, this is an assessment of the absolute hazard of the product, not the risk of exposure to current doses.
In late July, Bayer also promised to "actively engage" in the mediation decided in late May by a judge of San Francisco. But he "will consider an amicable settlement only if it is financially reasonable," warned his boss, Werner Baumann.
In June, and while the title Bayer had lost 40% on the stock market since the acquisition of Monsanto a year earlier, analysts Berenberg Bank were betting on a check close to one million dollars per applicant, which was then the bill to ten billion euros.
Quoted by the German agency DPA, Markus Mayer, Baader Bank, leaned rather, a few weeks ago, for an agreement in the range of 15 to 20 billion euros. Other analysts see Bayer persist in a long and costly legal battle to the Supreme Court.
In June 2018, the Leverkusen group took the biggest gamble in its history by acquiring $ 63 billion from the US seed and pesticide specialist Monsanto, relying on the growing use of chemistry to feed the planet.
© 2019 AFP