Bayer made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange last week under the ticker symbol BAY.

A week before the listing, Bayer disclosed that 100 patients died after taking the company's cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol--twice the number Bayer reported when it voluntarily withdrew the drug in August. Its plan to list in September was postponed when the company withdrew the drug following the first reports of patient deaths.

Chairman Manfred Schneider said the listing would help the firm "gain access to the U.S. capital market" and allow it to "make use of our shares for future acquisitions." It will be a tough sell.

Schneider acknowledged that the company's plastics and chemicals businesses have experienced weak demand, contributing to poor financial performance. For the first nine months of 2001, net income was $732 million, a drop of $662 million--48%--compared with the year-earlier period.

And aside from the billions in compensation claims Bayer could face because of Baycol, the company faces other hurdles. For one, it is reorganizing itself as a management company with four separate units: health care, crop science, polymers, and chemicals.

Despite continuing pressure from investors to spin off or sell the pharmaceutical unit, Schneider said Bayer would only seek minority partners. But he implied a bit more flexibility with the company's chemical portfolio. "We are ready for a partnership that could lead to a joint venture."

After the first day of trading in New York, Bayer's shares closed at $33.17.

COMING OUT Stock market and Bayer executives celebrate the firm's Wall Street debut.

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Copyright © 2002 American Chemical Society