Bayer’s Roundup Costs Could Top $16 Billion as Provisions Mount

Bayer AG will set aside an additional $4.5 billion to deal with lawsuits tied to its best-selling Roundup weedkiller, which will be pulled from the U.S. consumer market in its current form in 2023.

The provision, taken in the second quarter, comes on top of the $11.6 billion that Bayer has previously pledged to fight and settle the Roundup litigation. It lifts beyond $16 billion the potential costs of a legal saga that dates to the 2018 acquisition of Monsanto Co., the maker of the herbicide.

“This should remove uncertainty and ambiguity that’s been weighing on the company,” Chief Executive ...