A hoax press release crashed shares in a €35 billion French construction company by 20%
Reuters/USA Today Sports
Just after 4.00 p.m. Paris time (3.00 p.m. ET) a press release claiming to be from Vinci said that CFO Christian Labeyrie had been removed from his position, and that the company would restate profits from 2015, and the first half of this year.
That happened after an internal audit found accounting irregularities, the fake press release said. The release also said that the company had informed France's financial regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers.
Net losses were booked for both periods, the hoax said, amounting to a total of €3.5 billion.
Vinci's stock promptly crashed, dropping off a cliff in reaction to news that, if real, would have been a massive issue for the company.
Just 24 minutes later, Vinci's real press team released an official statement, denying all the content of the hoax release, and saying that it had been sent by a fake member of communications team.
"A fake press release was published today by Bloomberg at 4.05 PM. VINCI denies formally all the information contained in this fake press release and is investigating all legal actions in furtherance thereof," a statement on the firm's website said.
"Vinci officially denies the dismissal of Christian Labeyrie. We express our indignation towards such practices and inform that the group and Christian Labeyrie will file a complaint against the persons responsible for these acts," the statement released on Tuesday said.
"This is false, totally false. We deny it," a Vinci spokesman told the BBC.
Shares in Vinci quickly recovered, although still booked a loss for the day, ending trade down roughly 3%. Here's the chart showing Vinci's rollercoaster afternoon:
Investing.com
On Wednesday, shares have continued their recovery, climbing around 1.5% as of 8.45 a.m. GMT.
- Should you be worried about the potential side-effects of the Covishield vaccine?
- India T20 World Cup squad: KulCha back on menu, KL Rahul dropped
- Sales of homes priced over ₹4 crore rise 10% in Jan-Mar in top 7 cities: CBRE
- Gold prices fluctuate as geopolitical tensions ease; US Fed meeting, payroll data to affect prices this week
- Best beaches to visit in Goa in 2024
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market