WWhen the office softball group or five-a-side soccer team goes on a winning streak, it’s a good boost for morale rather than the balance sheet.
Then there is Bayer AG, the German conglomerate that owns Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a football team that on Saturday could complete its first undefeated season in the Bundesliga, the country’s top division, in front of 30,000 fans.
Leverkusen have already won the league title, breaking Bayern Munich’s 11-year dominance, and are in the national and European cup finals.
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Leverkusen’s dominance has boosted morale at corporate Bayer, where employees are accustomed to a barrage of bad news. On LinkedIn, the company has been pumping raise the achievements of Die Workerunder the inspiring leadership of Spanish coach Xabi Alonso.
Before the recent European quarter-finals, football flags were flown in front of Bayer’s headquarters. “They are known as #Werkselfor Factory Eleven. We call them our colleagues,” declared a company post on LinkedIn after the team won the Bundesliga.
Bayer shares have plummeted 70% since it shelled out $63 billion to buy US agricultural giant Monsanto six years ago. And since Bill Anderson joined the company as CEO last spring, he has conducted a high-stakes strategic review of the company and made the first of thousands of job cuts. The aim is to reverse the fortunes of a manufacturer that has business units focused on everything from cancer drugs and corn seeds to skin creams.
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Bayer chief financial officer Wolfgang Nickl sees potential for the football team’s fortunes to help somewhat with the parent company’s financial problems, which include high levels of debt.
“All great players appreciate value,” Nickl said at a press conference on Tuesday. “But that’s probably all we can say at this point.”
Founded 120 years ago by workers from the company that had just invented the miracle drug aspirin, Leverkusen spent its early years in the lower leagues and only joined the Bundesliga in 1979. Since then, it has become known as one of the strongest teams in Germany .
However, Leverkusen failed to compete for the title in the 2000 season and a few years later lost the German Cup and Champions League finals, earning the unflattering nickname “Neverkusen” from the English media.
Even so, Bayer’s management team never considered selling a stake in the team. In 2006, a participant at the General Assembly asked the company to sell the club. The call was rejected and the team was labeled “a precious advertising asset for Bayer AG”.
In fact, the company has increased ties with its football club. In 2007, it announced that it would renovate its stadium, allocating 56 million euros ($60.9 million) to build new stands and a roof.
“Our football team is an important way of promoting our image both at home and abroad”, explained then CEO Werner Wenning, justifying the construction to shareholders. Wenning retired in 2010 and has been president of Leverkusen ever since.
Bayer is still a major sponsor of its football team, although it’s unclear how much it pumps out each season. Investment is unlikely to slow anytime soon under CEO Anderson.
The Texas native never considered selling any stake in the club while reviewing Bayer’s asset portfolio since last spring, he said at a news conference on Tuesday. Furthermore, the Bundesliga’s strict ownership rules do not allow for the type of deals that have helped boost the valuations of English Premier League teams.
“There are very strict limitations on what can be done with German football clubs,” Anderson said. recently. “That’s not even an option.”
Outside the office, Anderson presented German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with a personalized football shirt while accompanying him on a trip to China. He recently sat down for lunch with Alonso.
Although the Bundesliga title is assured, the possibility of finishing the season undefeated is electrifying fans and managers. On Saturday, Anderson plans to join the 30,000 fans who will flock to Leverkusen’s BayArena – just a 10-minute drive from Bayer’s headquarters – for the final league match, hoping to see a historic performance.
“It’s a really great day for Leverkusen, for the city and for the club,” he said. And for the company, it could certainly use one.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
