Leverkusen – Bayer aims to achieve a sustained enhancement of its crop protection business – a key element of its life-science activities – through the acquisition of the FLINT® strobilurin product line from Novartis for CHF 1.333 billion (EUR 880 million). This promising fungicide from a novel active substance class will give Bayer a further blockbuster product, as the sales potential for the FLINT® line is estimated at about EUR 300 million per year.

"This acquisition is part of our strategy of investing in our core businesses and their growth markets. The move will allow us to enhance the competitive strength of our Crop Protection Business Group and further increase its already significant profit contribution," commented Bayer CEO Dr. Manfred Schneider. The European Commission has approved Bayer as the purchaser, but the transaction is still subject to the approval of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and of several other national competition authorities.

The FLINT® purchase includes global ownership of all associated intellectual property rights, registrations and trademarks as well as production and formulation know-how. Bayer will also take over production facilities and its 90 employees in Muttenz, Switzerland. As part of the deal, Bayer is also acquiring the exclusive right to market products based on the active ingredient cyproconazole in the EU. Currently sold as ALTO®, this azole fungicide has been launched in all major EU markets.

According to Dr. Jochen Wulff, General Manager of Bayer's Crop Protection Business Group, this acquisition is a key strategic move and will further strengthen Bayer's global market position. "FLINT® fits extremely well into our present product portfolio, and it puts us in a position to provide our customers with complete and highly efficient solutions. The sales potential of the FLINT® product line will be further enhanced by new product combinations, especially with compounds from our own pipeline. Once again, this will make Bayer the technology leader in the fungicides sector."

The properties of the FLINT line are superior to currently available fungicides, and the product covers a broad range of crop applications. FLINT has already been registered in 35 countries, including important markets like the United States and the United Kingdom. Global launch is expected to be completed by 2003.

As a result of the FLINT® line's novel mode of action and outstanding biological performance, the product has gained rapid market acceptance and brand awareness. Bayer expects to exploit the full blockbuster potential of the FLINT® product line within the next three years. FLINT® will ideally complement Bayer's top selling Folicur® fungicide line.

Novartis is divesting its FLINT® line of fungicides, including the rights to the sale of straight cyproconazole, to meet anti-trust requirements tied to the company's plans to merge its agribusiness with that of AstraZeneca to form Syngenta.

Bayer is an international, research-based group with major businesses in health care, agriculture, polymers and specialty chemicals. With some 120,000 employees worldwide, the Group recorded net income of EUR 2 billion on sales of EUR 27.3 billion in 1999. For the current year, EUR 2.4 billion is budgeted for capital expenditures and EUR 2.2 billion for research and development. Bayer's Crop Protection Business Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of crop protection products, with sales in 1999 of EUR 2.2 billion.

Note:
Most of the product names referred to are registered trademarks. Other brand names may be used for the products in other countries, provided they are available there.

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