Biotech
Grifols Falls 2% on the Ibex 35 After Moody’s Stops Covering It
Moody’s withdrew Grifols’ ratings, citing “insufficient or inadequate” information amid a potential takeover by family shareholders and Brookfield fund. Grifols’ shares dropped, with Class A down 2.3% and Class B down 4.5%. Despite the rating withdrawal, Grifols will continue working with S&P and Fitch. The board created a transaction committee to oversee the potential takeover.
![Grifols](https://born2invest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chris-liverani-dBI_My696Rk-unsplash-e1721034274463.jpg)
Grifols, which has been the focus of the Gotham City Research hedge fund in recent months, has plummeted by more than 2% on the Ibex 35 at the start of trading on Monday, while its B-shares, listed on the Continuous Market, have plummeted by almost 5%, following the announcement last Friday by the credit rating agency Moody’s of its negative response to the Catalan firm.
Specifically, Moody’s announced on Friday, July 12 at the close of the market that it has withdrawn the ratings on Grifols because it believes that it has “insufficient or inadequate” information to support maintaining the ratings, in a context marked by the possible Public Offer for the Acquisition of shares (OPA) of exclusion that could be carried out jointly by the family shareholders and the Brookfield fund.
In this context, Grifols Class A shares opened the session at 9.6 euros, a 2% drop compared to Friday’s close , while Class B shares started the session with a 4.9% drop to 7.65 euros. At around 9:30 a.m., Class A shares were down 2.3%, while Class B shares were down 4.5%.
However, sources close to the Catalan company have explained to Europa Press that Moody’s is no longer covering them because their contract has been terminated, although they will continue to work with the agencies Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch. These sources have also alleged that Moody’s is withdrawing the ratings because, once the contract has been terminated, it will only be able to access the company’s publicly available information .
Grifols had a stable outlook for all ratings before Moody’s withdrawal
Going into the details of Moody’s statement, the agency has withdrawn the Catalan blood derivatives company’s corporate family rating (CFR) of B3 and its probability of default rating (PDR) of B3-PD.
Additionally, Grifols Escrow Issuer’s Caa2-backed senior unsecured ratings, B2-backed senior secured ratings, Grifols’ B2 term senior secured rating and Grifols World’s B2-backed bank credit facility senior secured ratings have been withdrawn. Prior to the withdrawal, the outlook was “stable” for all ratings .
Moody’s said in a statement that it had decided to withdraw the ratings because it believes it has “insufficient or inadequate” information to support maintaining the ratings.
Creation of the transaction committee
For its part, Grifols’ board of directors agreed last Friday to create a committee, called the transaction committee, to monitor the possible takeover bid that would be carried out jointly by family shareholders and the Brookfield fund.
In a statement sent to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the Catalan company has stressed that the four directors related to Grifols’ family shareholders, namely Raimon Grífols Roura, Victor Grífols Deu, Albert Grífols Coma-Cros and Tomás Dagá Gelabert, abstained from participating in the meeting due to a potential conflict of interest.
Grifols has agreed to provide Brookfield with access to certain information under a confidentiality agreement as part of the work aimed at the possible presentation of a takeover bid for the shares of the company listed on the Ibex 35.
It should also be noted that the transaction committee is composed of Íñigo Sánchez-Asiaín Mardones as chairman , while Montserrat Muñoz Abellana and Anne Catherine Berner will act as members. The secretary and vice-secretary of the board of directors will also be part of the committee.
The meeting held on Friday also resulted in the appointment and hiring of the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP as legal advisors; the firm’s representative will also be part of the committee in his capacity as legal advisor. It was also agreed to delegate to the committee the work of hiring financial advisors in the context of the possible transaction.
__
(Featured image by Chris Liverani via Unsplash)
DISCLAIMER: This article was written by a third party contributor and does not reflect the opinion of Born2Invest, its management, staff or its associates. Please review our disclaimer for more information.
This article may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “become,” “plan,” “will,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties, including those discussed in the following cautionary statements and elsewhere in this article and on this site. Although the Company may believe that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. Additionally, please make sure to read these important disclosures.
First published in PlantaDoce. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.
Although we made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translations, some parts may be incorrect. Born2Invest assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions or ambiguities in the translations provided on this website. Any person or entity relying on translated content does so at their own risk. Born2Invest is not responsible for losses caused by such reliance on the accuracy or reliability of translated information. If you wish to report an error or inaccuracy in the translation, we encourage you to contact us
![](https://born2invest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/logo-slogan.png)
-
Africa4 days ago
Despite a Population Four Times Smaller, Algeria Should Overtake Nigeria in 2024
-
Impact Investing1 week ago
Enfinity Global Inc (Icg) Gets $500M Funding to Build Solar Plants in Italy
-
Crowdfunding2 days ago
Nuvola Zero Launches an Equity Crowdfunding Campaign with a Collection Target of 1.5 Million
-
Crypto1 week ago
OpenSea Challenged by US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)