Bayer CEO Says Breakup Wouldn’t Fix All of the Company’s Ills

BERLIN—Bayer Chief Executive Bill Anderson said the company would bounce back quickly from a recent spate of bad news, and warned that a breakup of the pharmaceutical and agricultural company was no universal cure for its ailments.

A stream of negative news has rekindled calls from investors for Bayer to unlock value by spinning off its units into separate businesses. But in an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, Anderson said the company couldn’t be distracted from the tough restructuring to fix the businesses.