Bayer shares slump as US court approves review of Monsanto case

Shares in Bayer slumped on Wednesday, after the Washington state Supreme Court said it would review a case alleging that exposure to products of the German chemicals company's Monsanto unit harmed three teachers.

The court said it accepted the case for review in a filing on its website, while also denying an application for a speedy review, Bloomberg reported.

Bayer shares fell more than 7% in Frankfurt on Wednesday. Monsanto persuaded an appeals court in Washington state to throw out a $185m jury award in May, after a three-judge panel found flaws in the 2021 trial over claims that Monsanto’s polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, caused the illnesses to the Seattle-area educators.

The case was the first of more than half a dozen verdicts with combined damages of more than $1.5bn to reach the appeals court over alleged PCB exposure at the Sky Valley Education Center.

Bayer argues the claims relate to industrial materials which Monsanto voluntarily ended manufacture of in 1977. It bought the US agrichemical maker in 2018.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com