'Complex' review of Grifols report and Gotham's conduct to take several weeks

Spain's National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) has confirmed it has received the report from Catalan multinational Grifols filed in response to Gotham City Research's accusations that the pharmaceutical company manipulated its accounts to hide debt. 

In a statement published on Tuesday, the CNMV said that a review of the report could take "weeks," but that there was "no evidence to date, with the information publicly available, that the published and audited information from Grifols does not comply with regulations. 

The markets regulator outlined its "firm determination to clarify the situation as soon as possible." 

The CNMV also said that it was "analyzing Gotham's conduct regarding the content of its report, the manner in which it was disseminated and related market operations." 

"The aim is to determine if said conduct is in accordance with European rules on market abuse, in particular those that address the spread of misleading information," the statement said. 

Suspending Grifols not necessary 

Provisionally suspending Grifols' listing on the markets "has not been necessary," because the regulator has not detected "any specific privileged information pending publication that represents a situation of asymmetric information between different investors." 

The CNMV also said it will not limit or prohibit short positions as "in aggregate terms and compared with Spanish listed companies as a whole, they do not represent elevated values and have not determined the fundamental evolution of the price of the listing." 

In terms of its investigation, the markets regulator said it may require "clarifying or complementary information" and that "the need could arise for clarifications, additions, breakdowns or even corrections to the information published by Grifols." 

"It is obviously not possible to anticipate these conclusions nor the corresponding actions," the statement from the Spanish government agency said. 

Gotham's accusations and Grifols' response 

Catalan multinational Grifols saw its stock market price plummet on January 9 following a report that accused the company of manipulating their accounts. 

The company's price dropped by as much as 40% during the course of that morning, after it initially appeared on the index without a price. 

The report, created by Gotham City Research investment fund, said that the company's shares were worth "zero." 

Grifols' CEO denied the fraud allegations and made commitments to improve company governance. Thomas Glanzmann said the claims in the short seller's report were "false." 

Grifols announced it will take legal action against the hedge fund for the "significant damage caused" to the pharmaceutical company's finances and reputation.