Amundi's 3% Stake in Bayer Lands as the Pharma Pipeline and a Missouri Settlement Collide

Amundi now holds 3.04% of Bayer voting rights, as a $7.25 billion Monsanto settlement proposal and Kerendia approvals shape the story.

Europe's largest asset manager has quietly crossed a symbolic line in one of Germany's most contested blue chips. A voting-rights filing published on Friday shows that Amundi S.A. moved above the 3% threshold in Bayer AG, with the French fund house now holding 3.04% of the voting rights — precisely 29,873,658 votes. The threshold was breached back on 14 September, and the disclosure notes that Amundi holds no additional voting rights through financial instruments.

The stake-building comes at a moment when investors are still trying to price two very different Bayer stories against each other: the slow grind of US litigation and the more encouraging cadence of pipeline and regulatory news.

A $7.25 Billion Proposal Sits Before a Missouri Judge

On the legal front, a hearing took place roughly a week ago in a Missouri federal court on a proposed collective settlement worth up to $7.25 billion. The plan, put forward by US subsidiary Monsanto, is designed to resolve tens of thousands of existing and future US claims over a period of up to 21 years. Bayer continues to maintain that glyphosate is not carcinogenic. The session had been postponed earlier to give the parties more time to work through objections from claimants seeking to opt out of the proceedings following a Supreme Court decision.

Kerendia's Regulatory Map Keeps Expanding

While the courtroom work continues, Bayer's pharmaceutical division is pushing its newer medicines into fresh territories. On 28 August the company filed for approval in Japan for Kerendia in non-diabetic chronic kidney disease, a submission backed by Phase 3 trial data. The move is aimed at widening the therapeutic reach of finerenone across Asia.

Days later, the US Food and Drug Administration granted clearance for the same drug in chronic kidney disease linked to type 1 diabetes — the first new treatment option for that indication in the United States in three decades.

Crop Science Carries the Quarter as Pharma Spends

The operational picture underneath those headlines is mixed. In the second quarter of 2026, Bayer posted group revenue of EUR 10.87 billion and adjusted EBITDA of EUR 2.14 billion. Crop Science did the heavy lifting, lifting adjusted earnings by 30.2% year on year, while the pharmaceutical business saw earnings fall 3.6%. Management attributed the decline to heavier marketing spending tied to the launch of new medicines.

Bayer has also been shoring up its balance sheet through partnerships. More than a month ago, an agreement with Apollo Global Management brought in EUR 3.0 billion of equity. The DAX group retains both the majority stake and operational control of its long-acting contraceptive business.

Broker Optimism and a 30% Year-to-Date Run

Equity analysts have been adding to the more constructive side of the ledger. On 8 September, Barclays raised its price target on Bayer sharply, from EUR 60 to EUR 70, while reaffirming an Overweight rating. Two days later, Deutsche Bank Research kept its Buy recommendation and left its EUR 60 target unchanged. Both houses still see meaningful upside from current levels.

The market has been reflecting that reassessment in stages. Bayer shares closed Friday at EUR 47.96, down 2.3% on the day, yet the stock is still up around 30% since the start of the year.

Neste Deal Adds a Biofuel Thread

Alongside the clinical progress, Bayer closed a commercial agreement with Neste on 9 September to advance cultivation of the winter rapeseed product newgold for biofuel production. Taken together with the FDA label expansion for Kerendia, the company is pressing ahead with several growth initiatives at the same time that large institutional holders like Amundi are building their positions.