German firm blames transcription error for discrepancy spotted by short seller

By Steve Goldstein

The German company under fire from a short seller on Friday said a transcription error was the cause for a discrepancy in its cash balances.

Mutares shares (XE:MUX) fell 2%, and are down 22% since a Gotham City subsidiary first disclosed to Germany's financial regulator a short position in the company.

See also: Listed German private-equity firm tumbles after Gotham City short-sale report

Mutares, a private-equity firm, acknowledged Gotham City Research, which this week opened a short position against the stock, was correct in noting the first-half balance sheet showing EUR394 million in cash does not match the EUR422 million reported in a statement of cash flows.

The private-equity company said the discrepancy occurred inadvertently, "during the conversion of the binding financial information into the graphic format for the publication of the half-year financial report 2024 on Mutares' website." The correct number was EUR422 million. "This purely editorial error will be corrected immediately and could easily have been clarified upon request," it said.

That was just one of the defenses Mutares made Friday in a more detailed response to the Gotham City report, as it said the short seller did not attempt to contact the company ahead of publication.

Mutares says it is investing in particular in the automotive and mobility segment as it highlighted its expansion into China, India and the U.S. Mutares said it's reiterating its 2028 target of a EUR200 million profit on revenue of EUR10 billion as it held to its 2024 goal of revenue between EUR5.7 billion and EUR6.3 billion.

Mutares also defended its practice of selling portfolio companies to buyers it's already carried out transactions with. It said it was not unusual and also noted it's bought from companies including Magna (CA:MG) and Siemens Energy (XE:ENR)multiple times.

-Steve Goldstein

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-27-24 0517ET

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.