Bayer AG is an agrochemicals, polymers and healthcare group with sales of around Euro33bn in 2008 and around 108,600 employees. Bayer concentrates its activities in four subgroups with largely independent operations: Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience, Bayer MaterialScience and Bayer Business Services. 
History
The company’s roots date back to 1863 where Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott opened a modest dye works by the name Friedr. Bayer & Co. in Wuppertal-Barmen. The company's headquarters were moved in 1912 to Leverkusen, Germany, on the banks of the Rhine, where it has remained to this day.
In January 2007, Schering was officially renamed “Bayer Schering Pharma.” In December 2006, Schering integrated into the Bayer group.
Bayer Schering Pharma is headquartered in Berlin, Germany and intergrated with Bayer’s current pharmaceutical business as a division of the Bayer HealthCare subgroup.
Company movements
In July 2007, Dow Chemical acquired Wolff Walsrode from Bayer for Euro540m ($739.7m), which includes a cash component and the assumption of financial debt and pension commitments. Dow plans to combine Wolff with its water soluble polymers business to create a $1bn speciality business, Dow Wolff Cellulosics.
In February 2007, Bayer sold its subsidiary H.C. Starck to Advent International and the Carlyle Group for approximately Euro1.2bn ($1.6bn).
In January 2007, the diagnostics business of Bayer HealthCare was sold to Siemens for Euro4.2bn. Both the Bayer Diabetes Care Division and the Schering contrast agents business were not affected. The deal was first announced in June 2006.
The company is split into the following four divisions:
Bayer HealthCare
Bayer HealthCare focuses on consumer health care businesses to capitalise on growth opportunities, particularly in over-the-counter medicines, self-testing systems and animal health products.
The subgroup has four operating divisions:
Bayer Schering Pharma - prescription medicines;
Consumer care - over-the-counter medicines and nutritional supplements;
Diabetes care - blood glucose monitoring systems; and
Animal health - veterinary medicines and grooming products.
Bayer CropScience
The Bayer CropScience subgroup is a supplier of crop protection, seeds, biotechnology and non-agricultural pest control.
Crop Protection - Solutions to protect crops from pests, weeds and diseases, and also preventive seed treatment.
Environmental Science - All non-agricultural applications. These include, for example, lawn care products and products to combat termites, locusts, and other disease vectors such as mosquitoes.
BioScience - Competence that arrives at new solutions through advances in biotechnology, seed breeding and the development of hybrids. All with one aim in mind: to improve the quality of the crops - and thus increase yields.
Bayer MaterialScience
Bayer MaterialScience is a major plastics producer. It is claimed to be market leader in its core sectors: it is the number one in polyurethane raw materials and isocyanate coatings, while also holding a leading position in polycarbonates (PC) and thermoplastic polyurethanes (PU).
In April 2007, Bayer MaterialScience stated its intention to combine its entire global polyurethane systems business under the umbrella brand of “BaySystems”.
Bayer Business Services
Bayer Business Services is the Bayer Group's IT-based competence centre providing business, administrative and scientific services. Its offerings range from technical consultancy to the performance of entire business processes in the areas of accounting, procurement, human resources, logistics, IT operations, scientific services, pensions and patents law.
Bayer Business Services also has subsidiaries that provide travel and media services.
Bayer Technology Services
Bayer Technology Services offers fully-integrated solutions along the life cycle of chemical and pharmaceutical plants - from development through engineering and construction to process optimisation for existing plants. Bayer Technology Services is also responsible for energy management at all Bayer locations worldwide.
Currenta
Currenta offers services for the chemical industry including utility supply, waste management, infrastructure, safety, security, analytics and vocational training. This service company, a joint venture between Bayer and Lanxess, operates the chempark sites in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany.
Bayer AG
Strategy & Financial Highlights
Bayer's business strategy will continue to focus on “fast-growing innovation-driven” health care, nutrition and high-tech materials businesses. It will strategically align itself into what Bayer calls “attractive markets” and concentrate on its core competencies. It aims to invest more intensively in growth areas and innovative technologies in order to achieve a leadership role. It will also go ahead with cost-containment and efficiency-improvement efforts in order to further increase the company's value over the long term. (Edited from: “Chairman's letter” and Annual Report). ICIS also provides you with key financial data listed in table form.
More about Bayer AG Strategy & Financial Highlights
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