Eurofins: Muddy Waters' accusations rejected

(CercleFinance.com) - On Tuesday, Eurofins denied the allegations made by activist fund Muddy Waters, which yesterday denounced the confusion and contradictions it claimed characterised the French bioanalytical giant's financial statements.


The group considers that the insinuations contained in the report circulated by the short-seller are either inaccurate, irrelevant, unbiased and/or misleading.

Eurofins says that, in due course, it plans to publish a detailed response in reaction to the long list of misleading allegations identified in the note.

The company argues that some of Muddy Waters' comments refer to events that took place 10 or 20 years ago, when it had less access to capital markets and higher debt levels.

The company thus declares itself fully confident in the integrity of its accounts, operational performance, internal controls and risk management

We have always been and will continue to be committed to providing fair and clear information, said CEO Gilles Martin.

Note that the share price fell over 16% yesterday after Muddy Waters questioned the complex structure of the group, and in particular the nature of the real estate transactions carried out with Gilles Martin.

At best, Eurofins has a parasitic controlling shareholder who has been siphoning off the company's money for two decades, Muddy Waters denounced in its report.

In a reaction note, analysts at Oddo BHF referred to a reputational risk more than an operational risk, which puts the group under pressure, and could weaken the company over the medium/long term.

Invest Securities expects the group to come back later on the numerous accusations concerning the real estate sales made to Gilles Martin.

According to the broker, this opposition should keep the share price lively for some time.

On the Paris Bourse, Eurofins shares rebounded by more than 5% in early trading on Tuesday morning.


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