Grifols, a Spanish pharmaceutical company, has been at the center of attention following a tumultuous week that saw its market value plummet by 38%. Accusations of accounting manipulation by the hedge fund Gotham City Research have sent the company’s stock spiraling downward, and explanations provided by Grifols have failed to convince investors. The complex corporate structure of the Grifols family, one of the wealthiest in Catalonia, is under scrutiny, along with the operations and connections between companies that have led to the current reputation crisis.
Founded in Barcelona in 1909 by Josep Antoni Grífols i Roig as a small family laboratory for clinical analysis, the company has evolved into a multinational corporation with a presence in over 30 countries and regions and a workforce of 24,000 employees. The company’s growth was furthered by his sons, Josep Antoni Grífols Lucas and Víctor Grífols Lucas, who, along with their father, established the laboratories that would later form the multinational company we know today. Their research in blood plasma would lead them to become one of the leading companies in this sector, with Víctor playing a key role in their significant growth.
In 1987, Víctor Grífols Roura, son of Víctor Grífols Lucas, completed a new generational transition at the helm of the group with an internal organizational transformation. Under the parent company Grup Grifols, a holding company was created that associates the productive companies in clinical diagnostics, plasma derivatives production, parenteral solutions, and the company that markets these products. In 2006, the company went public, and two years later, it was included in the IBEX 35.
A few years later, in 2017, the latest generational transition of the family saga took place. The then president and CEO, Víctor Grifols Roura, handed over the leadership to his brother Raimon Grífols and his son Víctor Grífols Deu, who became the new co-CEOs of the company.
It wasn’t until 2022 that an external person assumed the role of executive chairman, Steven Mayer. However, his tenure was short-lived, as he resigned from the position four months later and was replaced by Thomas Glanzmann, who later also took on the role of CEO, sidelining Víctor and Raimon from executive functions within the company.
The Danish executive has been a director at Grifols since 2006 and is one of those mentioned in Gotham’s report, as he is seen as not leading the company towards a more independent direction from the founding family, but rather being close to them. Víctor was relegated to Chief Operating Officer, and Raimon to Chief Corporate Officer, while maintaining their positions on the board of directors.
In terms of company control, the main shareholder is Deria SA with a 9.2% stake in Grifols. This company provides real estate consulting, commercial, marketing, and business management services. Behind this company are the descendants of Víctor Grífols Lucas, the Grifols Roura clan. Enric Grífols Roura serves as president, while his siblings Núria and Albert are board members. Ignasi Bruguer Merello serves as a non-board secretary.
While neither Víctor nor Raimon are board members of Deria, Víctor represented the company on Grifols‘ board from 1991 to 2002, and Raimon served as sole administrator from 2013 to 2021. It is likely that both brothers also share part of the company’s shareholding.
On the other hand, the descendants of Josep Antoni Grífols Lucas, the Grífols Gras clan, are at the helm of another company that controls the pharmaceutical company. This is Ponter Trade, which owns 7.089% of the pharmaceutical company and is its third-largest shareholder. The company’s activities include leasing homes in Spain, whether built, promoted, or purchased.
Leading the company are Josep Antoni Grífols Gras as president, and his siblings Montserrat and Santiago as board members. Jordi Fábregas Huguet and Julián Matos Martínez complete the board, while Ignasi Bruguer Merello reappears as a non-board secretary.
The family saga has built a corporate structure over the years that divides control of the multinational among them. However, the company that has garnered the most attention in the past week is Scranton Enterprises, the Dutch holding company that Gotham has pointed out in its controversial report. This investment vehicle linked to the founding family controls 8.67% of Grifols‘ shares, making it the second-largest shareholder.
The fund alleges that Grifols acquired the companies BPC Plasma and Haema in 2018 for around $530 million, only to sell them to Scranton for the same price, transferring their debt but accounting for the assets on its own balance sheet. Additionally, Gotham highlights that the company paid part of the purchase with a loan granted by Grifols. Therefore, the Catalan company would have sold two companies to its second-largest shareholder for a capital loaned by themselves.
The composition of Scranton is largely unknown, as it is based in the Netherlands. According to Thomas Glanzmann, it has 22 investors, of which only 3 are from the Grífols family, who would control 20% of the company. The company’s activities are crucial to the family’s empire, as it has significant investments in Catalan companies such as the basketball club Joventut and the cava producer Juvé & Camps.
Among the partners are the honorary president of Grifols, Víctor Grífols, his brother Raimon Grífols, and the lawyer Tomás Dagá, also a board member of the pharmaceutical company and closely linked to the family. Dagá is the founder of the renowned law firm Osborne & Clark, where lawyers Jordi Fàbregas (Ponter Trade) and Nuria Martín Barnes, a board member of Grifols and another family company, Centurión Real Estate, also work.
The latter company is a subsidiary of Scranton and is chaired by Juan Javier Roura Fernández. In addition to Nuria Martín Barnes, the board includes Tomás Dagá and Jordi Fàbregas. Scranton also owns Quadriga Real Estate, of which Jordi Fàbregas is the sole administrator. The network also includes Action Trade, a company jointly managed by Quadriga Real Estate and Ponter Trade. Another family company is Modolell Residencial, in which Deria and Quadriga Real Estate have stakes.
Finally, Ralledor Holding Spain stands out, a company established in 2022 as a result of the relocation to Spain of the Dutch company Rodellar Amsterdam Holding BV. This company holds a 6.154% stake in Grifols, making it the pharmaceutical company’s main shareholder. It had only one sole administrator, Jordi Fàbregas, until December 27, 2023.
The web of companies owned by the Catalan family is what raises suspicions among investors about the pharmaceutical company’s accounting and the cross-company operations. For now, Gotham’s report has created a reputational crisis within the company, and it remains to be seen which side the conflict will lean towards.