Brookfield Courts Sovereign Funds to Join Grifols Takeover Bid

(Bloomberg) -- Brookfield Asset Management is in talks with several investment funds to join its bid to acquire Spanish blood-plasma company Grifols SA, according to people familiar with the matter.

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and Singaporean counterpart GIC Pte. are among the investors that Brookfield has held discussions with over a potential partnership, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter isn’t public. No agreement has been reached with any of the funds, they said. 

Brookfield and the Grifols family, who are working together to potentially take the company private, have yet to present a formal offer to the Grifols board and are waiting to complete their due diligence, the people said. Any proposal could give the company an equity value of around €8 billion ($8.9 billion), the people said.

Brookfield, Grifols, ADQ and GIC declined to comment. Representatives of the family didn’t immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment. 

Taking Grifols private would mark the end of years of stock market turmoil at the company. The shares slumped at the beginning in 2020 as the pandemic reduced its ability to collect blood for plasma, and investors grew concerned over its debt-fueled acquisitions. 

Then, in January this year, the shares tumbled anew after short seller Gotham City Research criticized Grifols’ governance and accounting practices. Grifols denied any wrongdoing.

The Spanish company’s stock has lost almost a third of its value since the report. It has undergone a major revamp, which included removing members of its namesake founding family from executive positions and hiring outsiders as chief executive officer and chief financial officer. 

The family and associates own more than 30% of Grifols through several vehicles.

Brookfield is in separate talks with banks to line up about €9.5 billion of funds to refinance Grifol’s existing debt, which includes loans and high-yield bonds, Bloomberg reported Aug. 21.

Mark Carney, chair of Brookfield Asset Management, is also chair of Bloomberg Inc.

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