Last year, Grifols increased the financial relationships it maintains with the founding family and its companies, according to a financial report sent this morning by the group to the CNMV. The publication of the report, which affects the governance problems of the firm reported by Gotham City Research, caused a sharp drop in the shares this morning, which exceeded 10%, despite the fact that the firm announced results with a notable recovery of income and profitability.
Thus, the group granted a loan of 5.6 million euros to its honorary president, Victor Grifols Roura (which he repaid in January), and increased by 15 million euros the credit it had with Scranton Enterprises, an investment company in which the Grifols family participates in and which is one of the main shareholders of the pharmaceutical company itself, with 8% of the voting rights.
According to the report sent to the CNMV, Scranton owed the pharmaceutical group 115.2 million euros at the end of 2023, of which 86.7 million came from the credit that the group granted it to help it acquire two companies that own plasma centers. , BPC (Biotest) and Haema, for which it paid 469 million euros. This credit accrues interest, of Euribor plus two points, and matures in December of next year.
The report details the management purchase agreement signed by both companies, which allows Grifols to consolidate them since it maintains a purchase option that it can exercise at any time and has a contract to manage the centers and use practically all the plasma they collect, although must respect previous supply contracts until their expiration.
Within the framework of this consolidation process, the pharmaceutical company saw its reserves reduced in 2023, because BCP distributed 266 million euros as dividends to Scranton, its shareholder. This dividend, the report states, was paid without cash outflow, offsetting the item of “other non-current financial assets.”
The report indicates that last year Grifols also increased the rents it pays to Scranton for its headquarters in Sant Cugat, which it sold to it in 2011. Thus, last year it paid 7.2 million euros for its rent, compared to 6. 38 of 2022, because the contract provides for the updating of rents with the CPI.
Grifols’ financial relations with Scranton were at the center of the accusations launched by the Gotham City Research report, which accused the pharmaceutical company of falsifying its accounts, and are also at the center of the investigation that the CNMV has opened against the firm. .
Scranton channels the investments of three members of the Grifols family and other former directors of the group in various sectors. Among its participations are the Juvé y Camps winery, the Corp real estate company, Iberboard, some startups or the sponsorship of the Joventut de Badalona basketball team.
