Bayer and Monsanto Propose $7.25B Deal to Tackle Ongoing Roundup Claims

Monsanto made headlines recently with a major move to get ahead of its ongoing legal battles over Roundup, announcing a proposed $7.25 billion settlement filed in Missouri state court. The agreement, which still needs approval from a St. Louis Circuit Court judge, is designed to rein in the growing wave of product liability claims tied to the company’s glyphosate-based weedkiller. Bayer, Monsanto’s parent company, says the deal would stretch over 21 years and help bring more predictability to litigation costs tied to both current and future claims.

At the center of the controversy are nearly 65,000 plaintiffs across the U.S. who allege that Roundup exposure caused serious health issues, including cancer. The settlement would apply to individuals exposed to Roundup before February 17, 2026, who have been diagnosed or may be diagnosed within the next 16 years  with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Despite the scale of the agreement, Monsanto continues to deny liability. The debate over glyphosate’s safety has been ongoing since 2015, when the World Health Organization classified it as “probably carcinogenic,” a claim the company has consistently pushed back against.

This latest development comes as Bayer continues to navigate years of legal and financial fallout since acquiring Monsanto in its $63 billion buyout in 2018. That deal was quickly followed by a landmark jury verdict awarding $250 million in punitive damages to a Roundup user, setting the tone for ongoing litigation. Since then, Bayer has also settled a 2023 consumer lawsuit involving more than 230,000 customers and a separate $38 million shareholder case. With an $8 billion bank loan lined up to finance the new settlement, the company is clearly aiming to turn the page though a pending U.S. Supreme Court case, set for arguments after being accepted in January 2026, could still shape how these claims are handled moving forward.