Bayer Sells $3.4 Billion Contraceptives Stake to Apollo

The logo of Bayer AG. Photo by Krisztian Bocsi /Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Bayer AG sold a minority stake in its contraceptives business to Apollo Global Management Inc. for €3 billion ($3.4 billion) and will use the funds raised to help cover its ballooning litigation costs tied to the herbicide Roundup. 

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The German drugs-to-crop science conglomerate said Friday it will keep full operational control of the newly set up entity that sells long-acting reversible contraceptives to patients. This includes products like Mirena, a hormonal intrauterine device, which can provide up to eight years of contraception. Mirena, alongside other products Kyleena and Jaydess, generated about €1.4 billion in sales in 2025 for Bayer. 

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The deal comes as Bayer Chief Executive Officer Bill Anderson is trying to turn around a company that has been weighed down by US litigation tied to its Roundup weedkiller. 

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In February, Bayer raised its litigation provisions to €11.8 billion. The company said at the time that immediate funding for the settlements and bond maturities was secured through an $8 billion bank-loan facility, while longer-term financing would come from other instruments. The sale is part of that broader plan to manage its litigation costs. 

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Bayer last week also moved to separate its US glyphosate business, which includes the herbicide, into a separate business unit after a favorable Supreme Court ruling on the litigation.

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Shares of Bayer rose as much as 2% on Friday. The stock has risen about 40% so far this year. 

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For Apollo, the Bayer deal is the latest in a series of private capital financings the New York-listed asset manager has struck with blue-chip companies. Over the years, the firm has spearheaded some of the industry’s most complex multibillion-dollar transactions, striking deals with corporates including Intel Corp., Electricité de France SA, and Vonovia SE. 

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Earlier this year, Apollo also led a $35 billion financing package for Anthropic PBC to expand its AI infrastructure.

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Apollo has increasingly identified Europe as a key growth market. Last year, President Jim Zelter said the firm could deploy as much as $100 billion in financing across Germany alone over the next decade.

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The firm has already established a substantial footprint in the region through a series of investments in European energy infrastructure, including a $6.5 billion commitment to Ørsted’s offshore wind project in the UK and a €3.2 billion investment in RWE’s German power grid business.

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On Friday, in a separate development, Apollo also made an offer for EasyJet Plc that beats a rival proposal from Castlelake, a surprise twist in the takeover battle for the UK budget carrier that sets up a possible competition between the two US investment funds. 

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—With assistance from Silas Brown.

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(Updates with context and shares starting from second paragraph.)

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