MADRID, 1 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -
Grifols started this Thursday's trading session with a drop of 3.83%, with the share trading at 9.75 euros, already below the 10 euros it recovered on Tuesday.
Around 9:20 a.m., the Catalan company fell 3.34%, to 9.80 euros per share and overtook Sabadell as the biggest drop on the Ibex 35, leaving the bank in second position.
The company informed the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) last Friday after the market closed that, following reports that questioned its accounting and solvency, it has filed with the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York a lawsuit against Gotham City Research, the director and founder of the fund, Daniel Yu, General Industrial Partners, Cyrus de Weck and its investees to request compensation for the financial and reputational damages caused to the company and its shareholders.
The complaint alleges that the defendants obtained "a substantial short position" in Grifols by subsequently publishing and distributing a report "containing falsehoods about Grifols' accounting, communications, finances, and integrity."
In this lawsuit, the Catalan company requests the application of precautionary measures so that the defendants recant and do not persist in their actions, while at the same time claiming financial compensation that, however, has not been quantified.
Grifols also requests before the New York court that the defendants be held "fully responsible" for the "illegal behavior" alleged in the lawsuit.
In addition, he takes the opportunity to document the catalog of crimes and convictions of Daniel Yu, whom he accuses of creating Gotham "as a vehicle for his criminal enterprise."
The lawsuit includes Gotham's initial report on Grifols in which it "falsely" accuses the blood products company of manipulating its financial indicators, misrepresenting its leverage and misleading investors, a second from the firm, published the next day, which corrects and modifies the first, and a document in which the substantial differences between both reports are compared.
"It is the defendants who have participated in a fraudulent scheme to deceive investors and regulatory agencies," the complaint warns.
