FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer (DE:BAYGN) on Tuesday said it would consider settling with U.S. plaintiffs suing over the German group's Roundup herbicide only on reasonable terms, and if such a move wraps up all cases.
"In general, we will of course only consider settlement if financially reasonable and if we can achieve finality of the overall litigation," Chief Executive Werner Baumann told analysts in a conference call.
Earlier, Bayer said the number of U.S. plaintiffs blaming Roundup and other glyphosate-based weedkillers for their cancer continued to rise by 5,000 to 18,400, as a litigation wave that has crushed the group's market value showed no sign of letting up.
The company, which says regulators and extensive research have found glyphosate to be safe, is banking on U.S. appeals courts to reverse or tone down three initial court rulings that have so far awarded tens of millions of dollars to each plaintiff.