Bayer close to Roundup settlement, mediator tells Bloomberg

[January 17, 2020]  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer <BAYGn.DE> is close to settling more than 75,000 cancer claims related to its Roundup herbicide, mediator Ken Feinberg told Bloomberg in an interview, saying he was "cautiously optimistic" a deal could be reached in about a month.

Feinberg was quoted as saying that the number of cases had grown to between 75,000 and 85,000 and "maybe more". Bayer in October said it was now facing 42,700 U.S. plaintiffs blaming its glyphosate-based weedkillers for their cancer.

Feinberg declined to discuss terms of the possible settlement.

Bayer has ruled out withdrawing from the market in the U.S., saying regulators and extensive research have found glyphosate to be safe.

A spokesman for Bayer said: "The number reported by Bloomberg includes potential plaintiffs with unserved cases and is a speculative estimate about the numbers of plaintiffs who might be included in a potential settlement."

He added: "The number of served cases as reported on a quarterly basis remains significantly below 50,000. Bayer does not report or speculate about potential plaintiffs with unserved cases."

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Patricia Weiss; Editing by Michelle Martin)

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