Bayer to Sell Animal Health Unit

Bayer AG has announced it will exit the animal health business. In a press call Thursday, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann announced that the company would sell its animal health unit, along with consumer brands Coppertone and Dr. Scholl's.

The move includes the reduction of 12,000 jobs, globally. Baumann says of the portfolio changes that the decisions "were not made necessary by the recent acquisition. And, certainly not by glyphosate litigation in the United States," referring to the acquisition of Monsanto that closed earlier this fall. Bayer stock has fallen more than 35 percent in the last year.

Bayer Animal Health consists of nearly a dozen product lines for pets and farm animals, including the antibiotic Baytril. The North America unit of Bayer Animal Health is located in Shawnee, Kansas, part of so-called Kansas City Animal Health Corridor.

Source;  NAFB News