Monheim, Germany
November 27, 2002

Agreements include Europe-wide divestment of Pyrethroid-insecticides for agricultural uses

Bayer CropScience AG has agreed to sell additional crop protection products to Israel based agrochemicals company Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd. pending the approval by the European Commission and national antitrust authorities.

The agreements with Makhteshim-Agan include the following products:

Product Region / Uses Baythroid® (Cyfluthrin) insecticide incl. a mixture with imidacloprid Europe for agricultural uses Bulldock® (Beta-Cyfluthrin) insecticide Europe for agricultural uses Metasystox® (Oxydemeton-methyl) insecticide Europe for agricultural uses Nemacur® (Fenamiphos) nematicide incl. a mixture with imidacloprid Europe for agricultural uses Afalon® (Linuron) herbicide for vegetable crops and potatoes worldwide

Sales for the listed products for the indicated regions and uses amounted to EUR 36 million in 2001. The purchase price for the transaction has been set at EUR 52 million, including inventories.

The European Commission had cleared in April 2002 the acquisition of Aventis CropScience by Bayer subject to conditions of which the now agreed upon divestments are part.

"We are pleased with this outcome", said Dr. Jochen Wulff, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer CropScience AG. "With these agreements we have nearly completed the divestment process as required by the relevant antitrust authorities", he added. "We are confident to submit also the remaining divestment agreements to the authorities within the given timeframe."

Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of some EUR 6.5 billion, is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, seeds and green biotechnology, as well as non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 22,000 and is represented in 122 countries, ensuring proximity to dealers and consumers.