Bayer investor Artisan calls for break up

(Corrects paragraph six to show Artisan is 16th largest Bayer (OTC:) investor, not sixth largest)

By Richa Naidu

LONDON (Reuters) – Bayer is a “conglomerate” that needs to make major changes including “de-merging” two of its three business arms, investor Artisan Partners (NYSE:) told Reuters on Friday.

Artisan wants the drugs to-pesticides company to demerge its over-the-counter and pharmaceutical units, it said.

“Recently we wrote a letter to the conglomerate Bayer — and it is a conglomerate,” David Samra, founding portfolio manager of Artisan’s International Value team, said in an interview.

Bayer has a “whole host of problems” including “too much debt,” Samra said.

We suggested “that they cut the dividend to zero because they need the capital to effectively operate and reinvest back in their business,” he said, adding that the letter was sent prior to Bayer’s earnings results announcement on August 8.

Artisan is Bayer’s sixteenth biggest investor, according to Refinitiv data.

Bayer declined to comment.

(This story has been corrected to say that Artisan is the16th largest Bayer investor, not sixth largest, in paragraph 6)