The Grifols family and Canadian fund Brookfield are exploring a joint takeover bid for Spain-based drugmaker Grifols, aimed at delisting it.
Barcelona-based Grifols held a meeting last week to review a preliminary offer from Brookfield and the Grifols founding family.
As per the latest data from the Spanish securities regulator CNMV, the founding family owns around 30% of the pharma company.
Filings by Brookfield and Grifols reveal that both parties have requested access to specific company information to conduct due diligence before potentially acquiring all of Grifols’ shares.
Sources close to the discussions told Reuters that Brookfield is planning to invest more than €5bn in Grifols. Part of this investment will be used for refinancing and restructuring the existing debt of the Spanish pharma firm.
Brookfield will execute the deal alongside other investors in its funds, the sources told the publication.
Furthermore, the sources added that the Grifols founding family has no intention to sell its stake in the company.
The drugmaker reported a net financial debt of €10.9bn in Q1 2024, which is approximately €400m higher compared to the previous quarter.
Both Grifols and Brookfield did not comment on the potential deal.
According to Reuters’ source, discussions between the Grifols family and Brookfield began over a year ago.
The potential deal, initially reported by Cinco Dias newspaper, is estimated to be valued at around €5.5bn, the news agency wrote.
Brookfield indicated that talks regarding the joint offer could result in Grifols being delisted from both the Spanish stock exchange and the Nasdaq.
The investment firm, has been quoted by Reuters, as saying: “There is no agreement or decision regarding a potential transaction or the related terms and conditions.”
Grifols is also uncertain about the completion of the deal or the specific terms under which it might proceed.
The main shareholders of the Spanish pharma company include Capital Research and Management, BlackRock, Europacific Growth Fund, and Rokos Global Macro Master Fund.
