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Protests against the weed killer glyphosate in Bonn
Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen/REUTERS
After the takeover of the glyphosate manufacturer Monsanto, criticism of Bayer CEO Werner Baumann increased, but he can count on the support of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund: At the shareholders' meeting of the Leverkusen-based pharmaceutical and agrochemical group, he would vote for the discharge of the board, he said State Fund on Sunday with.
With a recent stake of just under 2.3 percent in Bayer shares, he is the fifth-largest shareholder.
However, the fund does not want to support the remuneration package for Baumann
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Bayer boss Werner Baumann
Photo: WOLFGANG RATTAY/ REUTERS
The state fund demanded that a "significant part of the annual remuneration" be paid in the form of shares with a holding period of five to ten years.
In addition, transparency must avoid “unacceptable results”.
All benefits should have a clear business reason.
Disagreement about the usual discharge of the board of directors had previously become clear among important shareholders: at the end of March, the fund company DWS spoke out in favor of it, while the Swiss-based investor Alatus Capital opposed it.
The virtual general meeting of the Dax group is scheduled for April 29th.
Under Baumann's leadership, Bayer took over the American glyphosate developer Monsanto for around $63 billion - and thus brought a wave of lawsuits into the house because of the alleged carcinogenic effects of the weed killer.
Since Baumann took office, the Bayer share price has fallen from just under 100 euros to around 66 euros most recently.
kig/Reuters
