Askume, Sept 20 – Three investment funds that hold shares in Spanish drugmaker Grifols (GRLS.MC) said in a statement late on Thursday that they had joined forces to request the filling of vacant seats on the company’s board of directors.
Flat Footed LLC, along with Mason Capital Management LLC and Sachem Head Capital Management LP, which own a 7.72% stake in Grifols, selected Paul Herendeen, a former executive at other big pharma companies, to represent them on the company’s board.
He said Grifols, which makes plasma drugs, has “attractive growth prospects” and that its share price is undervalued, and that he wanted to ensure any takeover bid would involve “fair value for all shareholders”.
In January, short-selling fund Gotham City Research began releasing a number of reports accusing Grifols of overstating earnings and understating debt, and Grifols lost a third of its market value. Following the report, Grifols announced governance changes and increased its alleged leverage.
The Grifols family and Canadian fund Brookfield (BN.TO) , which owns a roughly 30% stake in the company, agreed in July to evaluate a possible joint takeover bid with the aim of delisting Grifols shares.
Grifols said earlier this month that the founding family and Brookfield were conducting due diligence and no decision had been made on the acquisition offer.
