The pharmaceutical group Grifols falls again today on the stock market, 14%, due to the decision of the risk rating agency Moody's to review its credit rating and due to a new attack by the vulture fund Gotham City Research.
The stock has fallen today to 6.37 euros (18%), with a cumulative decline of 55% since the bearish fund published, on January 9, a report in which it accused it of falsifying its accounts. At these levels, the company has marked its lowest price since February 2012.
Moody's informed investors yesterday that it has placed the Catalan multinational's rating under review for downgrade and points out as reasons a weaker free cash flow generation in 2023-2024 than it had anticipated and the delay in the presentation of the audited accounts. The company assured in the presentation of results that it had obtained written confirmation from the auditor KPMG that it will endorse the accounts presented by the firm to the CNMV, and that it would make its report public this week.
Moody's decision, which questions Grifols' ability to make payments on debt maturities scheduled for 2025, contrasts with the decision of its competitor Standard
Gotham City, for its part, questions the accounts of Haema, a company that has plasma centers in Germany, which is owned by Scranton (the investment holding company owned by the Grifols family) but which the pharmaceutical company consolidates in its accounts, since it controls its management, buys all its plasma and has an option to acquire it.
According to Gotham, Grifols has granted that subsidiary advances of 44 million euros. But Haema participates in a “centralized treasury management agreement (cash pool)” of the entire Scranton group, in which the German firm finances other companies with 67 million euros, which in Gotham's opinion represents through indirectly a loan from Grifols to the founding family's business group.
The stock market crash in recent weeks has led to Grifols' capitalization being reduced by around 4,000 million euros in two months and is now 45.8% lower than the 8,711 million euros it reached in January.
