Haier to go ahead with purchase Grifols' stake of Shanghai RAAS

Asian group Haier has announced that it still intends to acquire 20% of the Chinese company Shanghai RAAS, currently in the hands of Catalan multinational Grifols.

The sale was made public last December and is valued at around €1.6 billion. After Grifols' share price plummeted last week due to the accusations of fraud from Gotham City Research, Haier has reaffirmed its intention to buy part of Shanghai RAAS "during the first half of 2024," and this has been communicated to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

Hedge fund Gotham City Research claimed that Grifols had bought plasma centers for a higher price than its true value in order to inflate the value, and that the Catalan company falsified its accounts to hide debt.

The Catalan company strongly denied financial manipulation and announced it would take legal action against Gotham City Research after the accusations caused the share price to drop from €14 to below €9.

On Monday morning, the share price bounced back up again by 7% early on Friday morning after Grifols stated the sale of 20% of Shanghai RAAS will be used entirely to reduce its debt.