Grifols confirmed Monday that its founding family members, in conjunction with private equity firm Brookfield, are considering taking the drugmaker private. “The intent of the transaction, in case it goes through, would be delisting the company,” Grifols said. An earlier report in the newspaper Cinco Dias suggested that the deal could be worth around €5.5 billion ($6 billion), with a final offer coming in the next few weeks.
Grifols is still reeling from a short-seller attack at the start of the year by Gotham City Research, which wiped 40% off of the company’s share value initially and a further 15% when new allegations emerged. The drugmaker has moved to restore investor confidence with the appointment of a new CEO, and more recently a fresh chief financial officer, but its stock is still down nearly 40% this year. According to Grifols, its founding family members and Brookfield have asked for “access to certain information…to carry out a due diligence process with respect to a possible acquisition.” Family members and a group of associates control about 30% of GrifolsGrifols. Barclays Bank analyst Charles Pitman noted that a takeover of Grifols would allow the new management team to focus on operational improvements. “However, given the poor free cash flow track record and low confidence in prior management, we would not expect a significant premium to be offered,” he added.