Activist investor Inclusive Capital looks to sell stake in Bayer, Bloomberg News reports

March 23 (Reuters) – Inclusive Capital Partners is looking to sell a stake in German agriculture and health firm Bayer AG, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

The investor is offering roughly 8.5 million shares in a stock placing arranged by JPMorgan Chase, the report said, citing terms seen by Bloomberg. The stake would be worth about 327 million euros ($380.17 million) based on the stock’s closing price on Monday.

Inclusive Capital could not be immediately reached, while Bayer did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Inclusive Capital, led by activist Jeff Ubben, took a stake in Bayer in early 2023 and helped drive the ouster of then CEO Werner Baumann. Ubben, one of Wall Street’s most prominent activist investors had pushed for several other changes at the company. He had been among a number of investors who had urged Bayer to consider a break-up. 

CEO Bill Anderson, who took the helm at Bayer in June 2023, has been overhauling the company’s management structure but suspended a strategic review that could have led to a breakup of the diversified group. 

Bayer earlier this month issued a 2026 earnings target range below market expectations, as the drugmaker struggles with costly litigation and massive financial debt. 

($1 = 0.8601 euros)

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)