Bayer's board of directors says Monsanto's lawsuit was conducted with diligence

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Bayer's non-executive board has reaffirmed its support for senior management's decision to buy seed maker Monsanto after losing legal action against US plaintiffs who claimed Monsanto's weedkiller had caused their cancer.

In documents published on the company's website on Monday, the non-executive supervisory board indicated in an expert opinion to the law firm Linklaters that Bayer's management had fulfilled its obligations during the acquisition of Monsanto for $ 63 billion last year.

"The supervisory board discussed at length this expert opinion and from there to conclude that the executive board acted in accordance with its duties," he said.

Bayer's shares have lost more than 35% of their value, which equates to about 33 billion euros in market capitalization, since August, when a US jury said Bayer was responsible for the fact that his Monsanto unit had not warned of suspected cancer risks of Roundup. He suffered a similar defeat in the audience room last month.

Although the German drug and pesticide manufacturer is appealing verdicts, more than 10,000 similar cases are pending in federal and federal courts, and badysts say the company will have to spend billions of dollars on settlements.

Shareholders should express their dissatisfaction at Bayer's Annual General Meeting on April 26.

Monday's statement by the non-executive board was published in a joint response by members of Bayer's management and supervisory board to the mishap brought by some shareholders to the AGM.

The CEO, Werner Baumann, said in press interviews that he enjoyed the support of the supervisory board.

The supervisory board in the German two-tier corporate board system is to approve larger deals and Bayer's non-executive chairman Werner Wenning has backed the deal with Monsanto, sources close to the case said .

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, the European Chemicals Agency and other regulatory agencies have found that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, was probably not carcinogenic to humans.

The carcinogenic arm of the World Health Organization in 2015 came to a different conclusion, clbadifying glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans".