Grifols will not have to restate its accounts for 2021 and 2022 following an investigation by the CNMV, as it did not find significant errors in the amounts it had reported, although the body noted that there were "relevant deficiencies" in some aspects of the information provided.

Since early January, bearish fund Gotham City Research has published three reports repeatedly accusing the drugmaker of overstating earnings and understating debt in its financial accounts. Since then, the pharmaceutical company's market value has lost billions of euros.

The National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) found no significant errors in the quantitative magnitudes of the financial statements or evidence that the indebtedness does not correspond to reality, but found deficiencies in two areas.

"The detail and accuracy of the disclosures and explanatory notes supporting the financial information figures in some years of the period analyzed and the presentation of alternative performance measures (APMs), in particular EBITDA and the debt/EBITDA ratio," it said.

"These deficiencies, although complex to assess individually and separately, as a whole should be considered significant, to the extent that they have hindered in some years the ability of investors to properly understand the financial position, results and cash flows of the issuer," the CNMV explained.

Grifols has repeatedly denied Gotham City's allegations, claiming that it had already responded to all the issues raised in the fund's reports.

Gotham had questioned Grifols' reported EBITDA, and leverage ratio of 6.7 times in the third quarter of 2023. It said the leverage ratio was close to 10 to 13 times EBITDA.

The Spanish supervisor has been examining recent information submitted by Grifols in response to allegations of accounting misrepresentation made by Gotham, while also analyzing the fund's actions.

Among other issues, the CNMV said it considers inappropriate the accounting treatment given to the integration of a collaboration agreement with ImmunoTek in Grifols' 2022 and 2021 reports.

According to the regulator, the transaction should have been recorded as a joint operation rather than as a financial investment. The CNMV said this could lead to a restatement of comparative figures in the company's first-half or first-quarter 2024 accounts.

Grifols said in a statement that it was "committed" to improving and expanding the disclosures in its financial information in line with the regulator's recommendations.

The CNMV also said Thursday that it had not carried out an in-depth assessment of Gotham's stock liabilities related to market abuse, which could be determined at a later stage.

(Reporting by David Latona and Jesus Aguado; editing by Andrei Khalip and Daniel Wallis; Spanish editing by Tomás Cobos)