LONDON/MADRID – Scranton Enterprises, an entity tied to the Grifols (NASDAQ: GRFS) family, said on Tuesday it reached an agreement with a private investor to refinance 377 million euros ($404.5 million) in debt of one of its units.
Spanish drugmaker Grifols’ market value has shed billions of euros since short-sheller Gotham City Research released a report in early January accusing the company of overstating earnings and understating debt. Grifols has repeatedly denied the claims.
Following Gotham City’s reports, Grifols announced governance changes and revised its reported leverage higher after the Spanish market supervisor CNMV required that it change its calculations.
Scranton Plasma, a unit of Scranton Enterprises – one of the investment vehicles linked to the founding Grifols family – has agreed to a three-year refinance of existing debt.
Scranton Plasma collects plasma from 75 centers across the United States, Germany, and Hungary and delivers it to Grifols to produce immunodeficient therapies.
In 2018, Grifols sold donation company Haema and BPC Plasma to Scranton Plasma. Grifols has said it wants to eventually buy them back.
($1 = 0.9320 euros)
(Source: Reuters)
