German union opposes Bayer split after CEO departure - taz newspaper

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's IGBCE union opposes any splitting-up of Bayer after the departure of its chief executive and warned that the company should not bow to pressure from hedge fund activism, taz newspaper reported on Thursday.

"From the point of view of the employees, Bayer with its three pillars is perfectly positioned for the challenges of the future," said IGBCE executive board member Francesco Grioli, who is also a member of the supervisory board at Bayer.

The company currently has three divisions - pharmaceuticals, consumer health and crop science.

"You can only manage the transformation of the industry with a corporate policy based on risk diversification and sustainability - not on hedge fund activism," Grioli told taz.

Bayer announced on Wednesday that it was replacing its CEO early, recruiting the former head of Roche's pharmaceuticals business, as investor criticism over the company’s lacklustre share price grew.

Bill Anderson's appointment for the top job, which takes effect from June 1, comes after shareholder pressure mounted over recent months to remove CEO Werner Baumann, who engineered Bayer's troubled Monsanto takeover, and find an external successor.

(Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Madeline Chambers)