Bayer Taps Hybrid Market for €2 Billion as Stivarga Sale and Missouri Roundup Hearing Advance

Bayer priced two €1 billion 30-year hybrid tranches at 5.75% and 6.25%, both oversubscribed, lifting hybrid capital to €6.55 billion.

Bayer has returned to the debt market to shore up its balance sheet, pricing two hybrid bond tranches worth a combined €2 billion on Wednesday. Demand ran hot: both tranches were multiple times oversubscribed, according to the company, and the proceeds are earmarked for general corporate purposes.

The issue lifts Bayer's outstanding hybrid capital to €6.55 billion. Split into two €1 billion tranches, the notes carry 30-year maturities and coupons of 5.75% and 6.25% respectively. Because the instruments are subordinated, they bolster the Leverkusen-based group's financial headroom without diluting existing shareholders through a fresh equity issue — a structure that also hands management long-term planning certainty as it refinances legacy liabilities.

The placement slots into a broader stretch of financing and portfolio activity. In mid-September, Apollo Funds and KKR closed a €3 billion capital solution for Bayer's long-acting reversible contraceptive business. Bayer retains operational control and a majority stake in the newly formed entity.

Portfolio Trimming and Pipeline Bets

On the divestment side, pharma company Grünenthal agreed to acquire the cancer drug Stivarga from Bayer for as much as €375 million, with completion expected by early 2027. Offloading a mature product frees up resources that Bayer intends to redirect toward newer therapeutic options.

Investment is flowing into future growth areas as well. On 17 September, Bayer's investment arm Leaps by Bayer led a financing round for biotech firm Robigo, which is developing biological crop protection solutions — including an active ingredient against sudden death syndrome in soybeans, targeted for market launch in 2028. The aim is to safeguard yields more effectively and bring novel crop protection methods to commercial scale.

Progress in the core divisions has continued in parallel. In pharmaceuticals, the US Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval in early September for Sevabertinib, a cancer drug indicated for first-line treatment of adults with HER2-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. Within Crop Science, additional products such as Vyconic and Intacta 5+ are being prepared to further modernise the agricultural portfolio.

Amundi Crosses Three Percent

Institutional investors have been moving too. A voting rights notification shows asset manager Amundi crossed the 3% threshold on 14 September, raising its reported stake in Bayer to 3.04%. Market watchers often read such position-building by institutional holders as a vote of confidence in a company's strategic direction.

Missouri Hearing Keeps Roundup Liability in Play

The legal legacy in the United States remains a central theme despite the operational momentum and fresh liquidity. According to media reports, a court in the state of Missouri held a hearing in mid-September on the proposed Roundup settlement, which provides for payments of up to $7.25 billion. No date has been set for a final ruling in the matter.

Shares Hold Gains

The stock has reflected the steady stabilisation. Bayer shares changed hands at €49.50 at the previous close and are up 34% since the start of the year, with the combination of secured refinancing and operational initiatives across the agriculture and pharmaceutical divisions underpinning investor confidence in the business recovery.