Grifols wins the support of one of the funds that were critical of its management

BarcelonaPeace at Grifols. One of the funds critical of the Catalan multinational's management, Mason Capital, which holds a 3.174% stake, has announced its support for the group's management and the proposed candidates and changes to the board of directors.

At Thursday's shareholders' meeting, a vote is scheduled to be taken on the resignation of Thomas Glanzmann as chairman after nineteen years as a director and on the reelection of Víctor Grifols Deu, son of former CEO Víctor Grifols Roura, as a member of the board of directors, as well as on his ratification. The latter is the member who joined on behalf of Mason and two other funds that were critical of the company's management. A variable remuneration plan with long-term shares for senior management members, worth up to €9.3 million, must also be approved. Neither CEO Nacho Abia nor CFO Rahul Srinivasan are part of this plan.

In a letter to the Grifols board, Mason expresses his gratitude for the "constructive dialogue" maintained so far with the company's governing body. The fund maintains that the company has accumulated "top-tier assets" throughout its history and praises the work of the current management team, which is executing a "viable" five-year plan. The fund believes that continuity on the board will lead to "a much higher share price" in the future, as it attracts more long-term investors.

They also endorse the appointment of Anne Berner as non-executive chairman and the dialogue maintained with board member Tomàs Dagà, whose dismissal had been demanded by critical funds. Dagà has held the position since 2000 and is also the founder of the Osborne Clark law firm in Spain, which has advised on the company's acquisitions in recent years, and from which he has retired.

Last week, Grifols filed its first court case against Gotham City Research in the US. The Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected the hedge fund's request to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Catalan multinational blood products company. The presiding judge, Lewis J. Liman, determined that there is sufficient evidence to continue the defamation proceedings against Daniel Yu, founder of Gotham, and his company, which caused a stock market earthquake early last year by denouncing alleged accounting malpractice at Grifols.