Bayer sells Animal Health business for USD 7.6 billion

Bayer sold its Animal Health business to U.S.-based company Elanco Animal Health.

The transaction is valued at USD 7.6 billion consisting of USD 5.3 billion in cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, and USD 2.3 billion in Elanco stock based on the unaffected 30-day volume weighted average price as of August 6, 2019.

The divestment is expected to be concluded in mid-2020 subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including antitrust clearance. Bayer intends to exit its stake in Elanco over time.

“This transaction enhances our focus as a global leader in life sciences. We are therefore delivering ahead of schedule on one of the key priorities for driving value creation that we communicated at our Capital Markets Day in December 2018,” said Werner Baumann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG.

The exit of the Animal Health business marks the largest transaction in the series of portfolio measures initiated by Bayer in November 2018. The company had previously announced the divestiture of its Consumer Health brands Coppertone™ and Dr. Scholl’s™ along with the sale of its 60-percent stake in German site services provider Currenta.

Bayer’s Animal Health business is a global leader in the segment with sales of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars in fiscal 2018. It develops and markets innovative products and solutions to prevent and treat diseases in companion and farm animals.

Previously Bayer said it would invest EUR 5 billion (USD 5.6 billion) in developing new weedkillers and reducing its environmental impact by 30% by 2030, as it seeks to address the fallout from U.S. class-action litigation over glyphosate.