Bayer will pay up to $10.9 billion to settle litigation over the subsidiary Monsanto's weed killer Roundup, which has faced thousands of lawsuits over claims it causes cancer, the German-based company said Wednesday.
Bayer said it was also paying up to $1.22 billion to settle two additional areas of intense litigation, one involving PCB in water, and one involving dicamba, another weed killer.
The company said the Roundup settlement involves about 125,000 filed and unfiled claims. Under the agreement, Bayer will make a payment of $8.8 billion to $9.6 billion to resolve current litigation, and $1.25 billion to address potential future litigation.
Any future settlements are subject to approval by Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the company said.
"First and foremost, the Roundup settlement is the right action at the right time for Bayer to bring a long period of uncertainty to an end," Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said in a statement. "It resolves most current claims and puts in place a clear mechanism to manage risks of potential future litigation. It is financially reasonable when viewed against the significant financial risks of continued, multi-year litigation and the related impacts to our reputation and to our business."