Bayer’s Progress on Roundup Woes Won’t End Monsanto Headache

Bayer AG is close to a turning point in its legal battle over the weedkiller Roundup. But it still has work to do to convince investors that buying Monsanto made sense.

The German drug and agriculture giant reached verbal agreements to resolve tens of thousands of U.S. cancer lawsuits over its Roundup weedkiller, Bloomberg News reported Monday. While the deals have yet to be signed, they cover an estimated 50,000 to 85,000 cases out of a total of some 125,000 lawsuits, according to people familiar with the negotiations, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.