Who owns Alka-Seltzer?
Alka-Seltzer is owned by Bayer (Germany, XETRA: BAYN).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Bayer AG Annual Report 2025, 10 March 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Bayer AG reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇩🇪 Germany, Leverkusen
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States, Elkhart, Indiana
- Founded
- 1931
- Category
- Consumer health › Over-the-counter medicine › Digestive health
- Parent ticker
- XETRA: BAYN
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Alka-Seltzer
Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent tablet combining aspirin, sodium bicarbonate and citric acid, launched in 1931 after a newspaper editor noticed his staff took a similar mixture to avoid colds. Its plop-plop advertising jingle is among the most recognised in American media.
Ownership timeline of Alka-Seltzer
Where Alka-Seltzer sits in Bayer
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Bayer ownership tree →
See the full Bayer brand portfolio (9) →
Other brands owned by Bayer
Bayer controls 9 brands on Brandtree, 4 of them in consumer health.
Also in consumer health
Other brands in digestive health, and who owns them
Bayer has more brands in digestive health on Brandtree than any other owner: 2 of 25.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Daiichi Sankyo Stomach Medicine | Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Kaopectate | Genomma Lab | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| Epocler | Hypera | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| Entrostop | Kalbe Farma | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| Metamucil | Procter & Gamble | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Buscolysin | Sopharma | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria |
| Oracal | Birzeit Pharmaceutical | 🇵🇸 Palestine |
| First Response | Church & Dwight | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: Bayer
Bayer is a publicly listed company headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany, founded in 1863. Brandtree records 9 brands under its control, and it is listed as XETRA: BAYN.
Bayer was founded in Germany in 1863 as a dye maker and synthesised aspirin in 1897. It spans pharmaceuticals, crop science and consumer health, and its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto brought both the Roundup weedkiller and tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that glyphosate causes cancer.
🇺🇸 Alka-Seltzer and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,549 brands that began in the United States. 478 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Alka-Seltzer among them.
- Advil — Haleon 🇬🇧
- Band-Aid — Kenvue 🇺🇸
- Breathe Right — Prestige Consumer Healthcare 🇺🇸
- Bufferin (United States) — Genomma Lab 🇲🇽
- Doan's — Dr. Reddy's 🇮🇳
- First Response — Church & Dwight 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Alka-Seltzer?
The parent company of Alka-Seltzer is Bayer, a publicly listed company headquartered in Germany.
Is Alka-Seltzer American or German?
Alka-Seltzer originated in the United States in 1931, but it is owned today by Bayer, which is headquartered in Germany. So Alka-Seltzer is an American-origin brand under German ownership.
Is Alka-Seltzer still owned by Bayer?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Alka-Seltzer is still owned by Bayer. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Bayer AG Annual Report 2025 — Bayer AG, Annual report, published 10 March 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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