Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols will hire an outside director, its chairman told the newspaper.

MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols, which has been battling a plunge in its share price this year, plans to add outside directors to its audit and remuneration committees to improve governance, its chairman said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.

Grifols’ market value has lost billions of euros since short-seller Gotham City Research published three reports in early January accusing Grifols of overestimating its profits and underestimating its debt. Grifols has repeatedly denied these claims.

In his first joint interview with Barcelona-based La Vanguardia newspaper with CEO Nacho Abia, Chairman Thomas Glanzmann said the appointment of independent directors to the audit and remuneration committees will enable the company to “continuously improve its governance”. said. “.

Abia said Grifols needed to simplify the way it described itself to the market.

“We must work to reduce complexity and increase clarity in our representation of the market. That is why the Gotham Report raises these concerns,” he told the newspaper.

Grifols said on April 10 that it plans to use proceeds from new senior secured notes and the sale of a 20% stake in Shanghai RAAS to Haier Group to service its debt in 2025.

Glanzmann said demand for the company’s bonds would be high once the issuance is completed in a week or two.

“The number of institutional investors who contacted us to participate was very high and speaks volumes about the market’s confidence in the company’s future, growth and ability to service its debt,” he said.

Grifols eventually wants to buy back blood donation company Haema AG and plasma donation company BPC Plasma, Abia said. Abia sold in 2018 to Scranton Enterprises, an investment vehicle linked to the Grifols family, which founded both companies.

“We have very generous options for Grifols to acquire these companies and we will exercise them, but we are in no rush,” Abia said.

Gotham City said in its January report that both Grifols and Scranton have fully integrated Haema and BPC Plasma into their accounts. Griffols said he had to do that because he held the call option.