Other years: 2007 2006 2005 2004 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998
In 2003 a total of €72 million was spent on acquisitions, translated at the exchange rates in effect on the respective dates of acquisition.
At the start of July 2003 Bayer acquired the remaining interest in the Bayer Polymers Sheet Europe group (formerly Makroform), headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, for €59 million. Bayer previously held an interest of 54.5 percent in this joint venture, which was set up in mid-2000. The other 45.5 percent was held by Röhm GmbH. The acquired group comprises Bayer Polymers Sheet GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany; Bayer Polymers Sheet N.V., Tielt, Belgium; and Bayer Polymers Sheet SpA,Milan, Italy.
By the end of fiscal 2003, the conditions set by the European, U.S. and Canadian antitrust authorities for the acquisition of Aventis CropScience Holding S.A., France, as of June 1, 2002 had been met in full, except for those relating to propoxycarbazone. In compliance with these regulatory conditions, Bayer CropScience AG sold the insecticide active ingredients fipronil (worldwide, except China) and ethiprole, and the attendant rights to BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany, together with a number of fungicidal active ingredients (principally in Europe, though the transaction also included a non-exclusive license for seed treatment outside Europe). The €1,330 milllion transaction also included inventories, as well as production facilities in Elbeuf, France. Adjusted for the backlicensing of these products in accordance with the conditions set by the E.U. and the FTC to give Bayer CropScience access to certain non-agricultural markets, the selling price totaled €1,185 million. The Bayer CropScience subgroup also divested a large number of low-volume products and inventories for a total of €118 million to comply with antitrust conditions.
As part of the streamlining of the Bayer HealthCare portfolio, initiated in 2002, the Bayer Group sold the remaining parts of the Consumer Care Business Group’s household insecticides business to SC Johnson & Son Inc., of the United States, for €339 million after obtaining the necessary approvals from the respective local antitrust authorities. Alongside inventories, SC Johnson acquired marketing rights to products such as Baygon®, Autan®, Bayclin® and Bayfresh®. Bayer will continue to manufacture the active ingredients for these products, which it will supply to SC Johnson and other users. The divestiture of the household insecticides business had already generated proceeds of €386 million in 2002.
The successful five-year research cooperation between Bayer HealthCare AG and Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., U.S.A. was terminated in the fourth quarter of 2003. At the same time, Bayer AG sold its 6.6 percent interest in Millennium Pharmaceuticals to the investment bank CSFB for €272 million.
In fiscal 2003 the Bayer Group sold further real estate in Germany, Belgium and Spain for a total of €122 million, continuing the streamlining of its portfolio. In 2002 it had already sold its interest in Baywoge GmbH, together with land and buildings owned by this company, for €528 million.
Effective April 1, 2003 Bayer sold its 50 percent interest in the PolymerLatex group, which is based in Marl, Germany, to Soros Private Equity Partners for €118 million. Comprised of seven companies, PolymerLatex is a leading supplier of latex products for paper, carpets/molded foam and specialty applications.
At the end of January 2003 the Bayer Group’s organic pigments business was sold to the Sun Chemicals group, of the United States, for €46 million.
In December 2003, Bayer HealthCare AG sold its rights to the Bayovac® (IBR marker vaccines) and Baypamun® (immunomodulator) brands to Pfizer for a total of €32 million. This transaction included a toll manufacturing agreement under which Bayer will continue to manufacture these products for a transition period of three years. This divestiture does not include the foot-and-mouth vaccines, which Bayer HealthCare will continue to manufacture and market.
In the fourth quarter of 2003, Bayer AG sold its subsidiary Walothen GmbH, Walsrode, Germany, to the Wihuri group, of Finland, for €9 million. This company manufactures high-quality polypropylene films for the following market segments: films for the tobacco industry, films for print lamination, overwrap films and standard films. It was formerly part of the Bayer Chemicals subgroup.
