Tweedy, Browne may not convince many German shareholders to vote yes on its resolution, but Schneider cannot take these owners for granted.

FORBES: A headache in Leverkusen

The gathering, to be held on May 22 at New York's posh Metropolitan Club, could get spirited, at least if Black takes questions from shareholder Tweedy, Browne Co.

FORBES: Press Lord Pressed

The Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund, which gets a FORBES grade of D in up markets but scores an A in down markets, hedges its foreign currency exposure.

FORBES: Riding the Dollar

One frustrated shareholder, Thomas Shrager, a partner at the money manager Tweedy, Browne in New York, last year proposed to split the German conglomerate (FORBES GLOBAL, Apr. 30, 2001).

FORBES: Bayer backs down

Tweedy, Browne, which holds less than 1% of Bayer, claims to have the support of most shareholders in the U.S. and the U.K., but they account for only about a fifth of the shares outstanding.

FORBES: A headache in Leverkusen

The author of the proposal, Thomas Shrager, a partner at Tweedy, Browne, a money manager in New York City, has lobbied Bayer's management for months to free its undervalued pharmaceutical business from the rest of the conglomerate.

FORBES: A headache in Leverkusen

"I don't care about the future liabilities, as long as Bayer gets a good price for its pharmaceuticals business, " says Thomas Shrager, the international fund manager at Tweedy, Browne in New York and one of the most vocal critics of Bayer's management among shareholders.

FORBES: Beyond the bad at Bayer