Frankfurt (Reuters) - The entry of another hedge fund has fueled speculation about a split-up of Bayer.

The activist investor Bluebell, which joined the agricultural and pharmaceutical company several months ago, is pushing for a sale of the over-the-counter health products business (Consumer Health), which would help Bayer to reduce its debt, a person familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday. Bayer could then be split into a pharmaceutical and an agricultural company. Bluebell is also seeking a reorganization of management, including the appointment of a new top management and supervisory board.

Bluebell's stake in Bayer initially remained unclear. The investor could not be reached for comment. The Bloomberg agency had previously reported on the acquisition. This gave Bayer shares a boost on the stock market: they rose by more than four percent to EUR 56.25, their highest level since the end of November.

On Monday, the activist investor Inclusive Capital Partners announced that it had acquired a 0.83 percent stake in Bayer. Its founder Jeffrey Ubben told the "Financial Times" that a break-up was not necessary to create value. "But it has to be on the table." The fund company Harris Associates, one of Bayer's largest shareholders with just under three percent, had jumped to the side of Inclusive: It would support Ubben joining the Supervisory Board. The largest shareholder is the asset manager BlackRock with around 6.6 percent.

At 53 billion euros (57 billion dollars), Bayer's market value is still below the 63 billion dollars that the company paid for the takeover of US seed giant Monsanto in 2018. According to Bloomberg, Bluebell has spoken to the Supervisory Board about the past few months behind the scenes. Baumann's contract expires in April 2024. He has been under pressure since the takeover of Monsanto. Bayer has always rejected recurring calls for a split-up.

According to an insider, the activist investor Elliott still has a stake in Bayer. However, it had recently held back verbally - due to the imminent change at the top, according to a person familiar with the events. The hedge fund had acquired a two percent stake in 2019 and had put pressure on Monsanto in the wake of the wave of lawsuits surrounding the glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup.

"Dissatisfied investors, a weak CEO who will step down in a year at the latest, a certain easing of the glyphosate legal risks, an operational improvement that is not yet fully reflected in the share price and a supervisory board that has not initiated any major changes are a toxic mix," fund manager Markus Manns from Union Investment told Reuters. It is too early for a break-up, but a spin-off of Consumer Health could create value. "Business as usual is no longer an option." In the opinion of the investment company, which is one of the ten largest Bayer shareholders, the review of the Group structure is the task of a new boss: "An external new CEO would have the charm of being able to start unencumbered."

A Bayer spokesperson did not wish to comment on Bluebell's investment, but explained that the company is always open to constructive dialog with its stakeholders. Bluebell, which was founded three years ago, has in the past challenged the course and management of large corporations such as GSK, Glencore, Vivendi and Danone, although it only owns very small stakes.

(Report by Patricia Weiß, Ludwig Burger, Elisa Martinuzzi and Alexander Hübner, edited by Myria Mildenberger. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)