The European Central Bank (ECB) has initiated inquiries into several lenders, urging them to disclose their exposure to Grifols SA (NASDAQ:GRFS) and its affiliated entities following accusations of financial manipulation by Gotham City Research.
The Barcelona-headquartered pharmaceutical company denied allegations that it manipulated its financial accounts, asserting that it has not misrepresented its debt and earnings through transactions with a related entity.
Gotham City Research alleges that Grifols included satellite companies’ earnings in its accounts but excluded their debts, distorting its actual leverage ratio.
Gotham’s investigation suggests that Grifols’ actual debt could be closer to €8.9 billion, significantly higher than the reported €8 billion. They estimate that the company’s leverage is not the reported 6x but ...