Regulators Home In on KPMG as Gerresheimer Races to Secure Its €870M Debt Deal by June

Gerresheimer faces restructuring, plant closure, and Centor sale amid accounting scandal. BaFin and APAS probe; Schuldschein extended until 2026.

Gerresheimer is leaning hard into a sweeping restructuring, shuttering a glass plant in Chicago Heights and putting its profitable US subsidiary Centor Inc. on the block, all while the clock ticks toward a June deadline that will determine whether its credit lines hold. The pharmaceutical packaging group has secured a lifeline from Schuldschein holders, who agreed to extend nearly the full €870 million in loans until the end of September 2026 and suspend key covenants. But that reprieve is conditional: the company must deliver an audited annual report for 2025 next month, a test that is proving anything but straightforward.

The accounting scandal at the heart of the crisis has drawn in regulators on two fronts. The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, is already probing the group’s books, and the Auditor Oversight Body, APAS, has now opened an investigation into KPMG, the firm that signed off on the flawed 2024 statements without qualification. At issue are systematic violations of IFRS rules through so?called bill?and?hold arrangements, where Gerresheimer invoiced customers for goods it had not yet shipped. The premature revenue recognition inflated sales by €35 million and overstated adjusted operating earnings by €24 million. The roster of errors, however, extends further: €65.5 million in leasing liabilities were incorrectly reported, and development costs were amortized in a way that does not match the accounting standards. An independent law firm confirmed the pattern of infractions.

To rebuild credibility, management brought in Grant Thornton as a second audit firm, working in concert with KPMG to comb through the 2024 and 2025 financials. The urgency is palpable. Gerresheimer has already warned of non?cash impairment charges of up to €240 million, and the entire financial calendar has ground to a halt until the June statement is published. Shareholder association DSW is simultaneously pressuring former executives, demanding accountability for the irregularities.

Operationally, the company is moving fast to shore up cash. The glassworks in Chicago Heights will close by year?end, with production shifting to sites in Italy and India. At the same time, the sale of Centor — a unit that makes packaging systems for prescription drugs and is considered a high?margin jewel — is being advised by Morgan Stanley and is expected to close within the year. The divestiture could dent overall profitability, but it frees capital the group desperately needs. Even as those fires are fought, Gerresheimer is trying to project business?as?usual: at the Interpack trade fair in Düsseldorf, it announced a partnership with Milliken to improve moisture?barrier performance in pharmaceutical packaging.

The stock market has been anything but calm. After a 41% surge over the past month, the shares have slipped back to roughly €24.90, once again trading below their 200?day moving average. The annualised volatility is a staggering 69%, and short interest remains elevated at 11.4%, with Millennium International Management adding to its position even as Arrowstreet Capital trimmed its bets. Over the trailing twelve months, the stock has lost 60% of its value.

All eyes are now on June. Audited results for fiscal 2025 are due, followed by first?quarter numbers and, on 14 July, the half?year report. The annual general meeting has been postponed indefinitely. Until a clean audit opinion lands, major institutional investors lack a solid foundation for reassessing the creditworthiness of a company that has seen its reputation shredded. Without it, the €870 million debt reprieve is little more than a bridge to nowhere.