MADRID – Three investment funds with holdings in Spanish drugmaker Grifols (NASDAQ: GRFS) have teamed up to ask to fill a vacant seat on the company’s board, they said in a statement late on Thursday.
Flat Footed LLC, along with Mason Capital Management LLC and Sachem Head Capital Management LP, which hold a combined 7.72% stake in Grifols, picked Paul Herendeen, a former senior executive at other large pharmaceutical companies, to be their representative on the company’s board, the statement said.
They said Grifols, which produces plasma-based medicines, had “an attractive growth profile” and its shares were undervalued. They wanted to ensure any takeover offer included “a price that is fair for all shareholders.”
Grifols (NASDAQ: GRFS) lost a third of its market value in January when short-seller fund Gotham City Research released several reports accusing Grifols of overstating earnings and understating debt. Following the reports Grifols announced governance changes and revised its reported leverage higher.
The Grifols family, which holds a stake of around 30% in the company, and Canadian fund Brookfield agreed in July to evaluate a possible joint takeover bid for Grifols shares with the intent to delist it.
Earlier this month, Grifols said the founding family and Brookfield were in the process of due diligence and had not decided on an offer yet.
(Source: ReutersReuters)
