(Reuters) -Eurofins on Tuesday denied allegations of financial embezzlement made by the hedge fund Muddy Waters against it, allowing the title of the scientific laboratory group to regain some of the ground lost the day before.
“Eurofins considers that all of the allegations and insinuations contained in this document are inaccurate, irrelevant, biased and/or misleading,” the group wrote in a press release.
He adds that he will provide a detailed response to Muddy Waters’ memo “in due course.”
Muddy Waters, who recommends a short position on the stock, said on Monday that Eurofins’ account statements could be overvalued, causing the stock to fall by 16.5% on the Paris Stock Exchange.
Eurofins shares, which lost up to 25% on Monday, rebounded by 5.04% on Tuesday to 46.45 euros around 07:55 GMT, compared to a decline of 0.64% for the SBF 120 index.
Eurofins, established in 1987 by current managing director Gilles Martin, offers laboratory testing services for sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food and cosmetics.
Responding to an allegation in the short seller’s report, Eurofins said all property transactions with relevant parties had been carried out “at arm’s length” and that “all properties had been paid for by their owners”.
The company added that its cash amounts were audited locally and consolidated as part of the required communication between accounting teams and auditors.
(Written by Pauline Foret with Olivier Sorgho and Claude Chendjou, edited by Augustin Turpin and Blandine Hénault)
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