Grifols launches a €350 million takeover bid for its subsidiary Biotest.
The pharmaceutical company, which already holds 97.14% of the shares, fell 4.43% on the stock market this Monday.
BarcelonaThe board of directors of the Catalan pharmaceutical company Grifols has unanimously approved the presentation of a delisting takeover bid (OPB) to the shareholders of its subsidiary Biotest for a total value of €343.6 million. The Catalan multinational, which already owns almost all of the German company's capital, fell 4.43% on the stock market to €8.198 million.
The acquisition will be through its subsidiary Grifols Biotest Holdings GmbH and will consist of a public tender offer for the delisting of Biotest's ordinary and non-voting preferred shares, which the Parets del Vallès-based pharmaceutical company does not yet hold. Therefore, the offer will be for 2.86% of the ordinary shares and 53.78% of the preferred shares, for which it will offer €43 and €30, respectively. These shares are called free float because they represent the portion of the capital held by other investors and freely traded on the stock exchange. In total, Biotest is made up of 19.78 million shares of each type.
In a statement sent to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), Grifols explained that both companies have agreed to request the cancellation of the admission of Biotest shares for trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. At the same time, the German firm explained in a note that it will take all reasonable measures to ensure the inclusion of Biotest's ordinary shares and preferred shares in the over-the-counter market.
A journey in the spotlight
Biotest has been part of the Grifols Group since May 2022, when the Catalan company another takeover bid materialized to purchase the capital it currently holds in the German company. The relationship between Grifols and Biotest was one of the targets targeted by the New York fund Gotham when it accused the Catalan company of accounting irregularities. In March, the CNMV demanded further information, among other issues, on the debt of the companies Biotest and Haema, which it consolidates in its accounts, but does not control its capital. In 2018, Grifols purchased Biotest's subsidiary in the United States, which operated 24 plasma centers, and that same year sold it, together with Haema AG, to Scranton, one of its shareholders, for 469 million euros. The acquisition was completed in 2022, which began with the acquisition of the German division of the pharmaceutical company Tiancheng Pharmaceutical Holdings, which owns 90% of Biotest's common shares and 1% of Biotest's preferred shares.
Biotest is a provider of biological medicines made from human plasma, primarily focusing on clinical applications. The company specializes in immunology, hematology, and intensive care and emergency medicine. It currently employs more than 2,500 people worldwide, and its shares are listed on the Prime Standard of the German Stock Exchange.
