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Activist Bluebell Said to Build Bayer Stake in Breakup Push

A Bayer AG pharmaceutical plant in Berlin, Germany.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

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By Crystal Tse, Swetha Gopinath, and Aaron Kirchfeld

January 10, 2023 at 6:21 PM UTC

Updated on

January 11, 2023 at 8:46 PM UTC

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Bayer AG shares climbed after people with knowledge of the matter said activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners has built a stake in the company and is pushing for a breakup.

Bluebell has amassed an undisclosed holding and is seeking an overhaul of Bayer’s corporate governance, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The stock rose 3.6% Wednesday in Frankfurt trading, giving Bayer a market value of about €55 billion ($59 billion).