Bayer named former Roche executive Bill Anderson as its new CEO on Wednesday, potentially ending a dramatic and difficult chapter during which its current chief executive, Werner Baumann, presided over the disastrous $63 billion purchase of the agriculture firm Monsanto.
Anderson will take over April 1, becoming the first American to run the 160-year-old conglomerate, which invented aspirin and later played a major role in the development of hormonal contraceptives, hemophilia clotting factors, and the blood thinner Xarelto. He will become chairman on June 1.
Bayer’s decision follows escalating pressure from shareholders to replace Baumann, architect of the company’s 2018 Monsanto deal. The all-cash acquisition is now considered among the worst deals in recent corporate history, saddling Bayer with sizable debts and costly court losses related to the weed killer Roundup. The company’s stock price has fallen nearly 50% since the merger.
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