Janice R. Andrews
According to people familiar with the situation, Canadian investment behemoth Brookfield Asset Management is in discussions with banks to obtain capital for a possible takeover offer of the faltering Spanish pharmaceutical business Grifols. According to one source, significant financial firms including UBS and Bank of America are involved in the talks.
The Grifols founding family, who hold around 30% of the business, and Brookfield made a preliminary offer, which Grifols said it would evaluate last month. The plan calls for a combined takeover attempt to remove Grifols off the stock market.
According to a Bloomberg story published on Wednesday, as part of the possible privatization agreement, Brookfield is asking banks for up to $10.6 billion in order to restructure Grifols’ current debt. The announcement increased the value of Grifols’ shares by up to 6%.
One of the sources claims that the acquisition discussions are moving along, however there are still few specifics. Bank of America, UBS, Grifols, and Brookfield representatives all declined to comment.
Grifols has had serious financial difficulties, which have been made worse by accusations from Gotham City Research, a short-seller, that the business is downplaying its debt and exaggerating its earnings. The market value of the firm has decreased by 40% since January as a result of these accusations, which Grifols disputes.
Grifols has responded by changing its management and updating its debt estimates in accordance with orders from Spain’s market watchdog. Grifols’ net financial debt as of the second quarter was €9.4 billion, down around €1.5 billion from the prior quarter. The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to the company’s plasma supply chain, which is why debt reduction remains a top priority.
