Gerresheimer Faces Legal Scrutiny and Financial Strain as Accounting Crisis Deepens

Gerresheimer faces APAS probe into KPMG audit, DSW claims against ex-CEO/CFO, and a liquidity crisis forcing asset sales after covenant breaches.

The accounting scandal at packaging manufacturer Gerresheimer is escalating into a significant legal and regulatory battle. Shareholder advocates are now examining potential claims against former executives, while auditor KPMG has drawn the attention of oversight authorities. This development marks a new phase in a crisis that has already triggered breaches of the company's loan agreements.

Auditor and Former Leadership Under Investigation

Germany's audit oversight body, APAS, has initiated professional misconduct proceedings against KPMG. The allegations are serious: the auditor issued an unqualified opinion on the 2024 financial statements despite the presence of systematic IFRS accounting errors related to "bill-and-hold" arrangements. Specifically, these errors involve incorrect revenue bookings totaling 35 million euros, alongside planned value adjustments expected to reach a figure in the high hundreds of millions.

In a parallel move, the shareholder protection association DSW is preparing potential damages claims. The focus of these investigations is on former CEO Dietmar Siemssen and ex-CFO Bernd Metzner. A legal opinion commissioned by the DSW aims to clarify the liability of the prior management board and the audit committee.

Liquidity Crisis Triggers Asset Sales and Covenant Breaches

These legal challenges compound an already precarious operational situation. Gerresheimer has breached its existing credit covenants after failing to meet the deadline for publishing its audited 2025 financial statements by the end of March. Management is currently engaged in intense negotiations with its banking partners to secure extensions. As a direct consequence of these delays, the company has postponed both its quarterly report and its annual general meeting indefinitely.

To raise urgently needed liquidity, the group is implementing structural cuts. Its US drug packaging division, Centor, has been put up for sale through Morgan Stanley. This business segment was last valued on the books at 292 million euros. Concurrently, Gerresheimer will shutter its manufacturing plant in Chicago Heights, USA, by the end of 2026.

Market Turmoil and Divergent Investor Bets

The company's dramatic situation is clearly reflected in its stock performance. Over a twelve-month period, the share price has collapsed by nearly 70 percent, recently trading at 18.90 euros. Interestingly, some institutional investors, including CastleKnight and Deka, are using the depressed valuation to establish new positions, setting themselves against the short sellers who remain active in the market.

Management's revenue forecast of 2.3 to 2.4 billion euros for 2026 is explicitly contingent on two factors: the successful renegotiation of its credit facilities and the outcome of ongoing investigations by the German financial regulator, BaFin. By the time the half-year report is published on July 14, 2026, the executive board must present concrete results from the bank talks and demonstrate that the company's financial foundation is secure.