Bayer flags US$750m higher Roundup settlement bill

[FRANKFURT] Drugs and farming pesticides maker Bayer said the costs of its settlement over claims its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, initially put at US$11 billion, would be US$750 million higher.

Bayer struck an agreement in principle with US plaintiff's lawyers in June but a judge later took issue with a side arrangement on future cases that may yet be lodged, known as a class plan.

"Bayer took an additional provision in the third quarter to cover the increased cost of a revised class plan, as it is far enough along in the negotiations to know that the new plan will come in at approximately US$2 billion, an increase over the original cost of US$1.25 billion," Bayer said in a statement on Monday.

REUTERS