Tire giant Pirelli vows legal action as short seller alleges ‘close relationship’ with Russia
MARCH 22: Pirelli tyre compounds lined up for display prior to the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit
MARCH 22: Pirelli tyre compounds lined up for display prior to the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on March 22, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images) Italian tire maker Pirelli has instructed lawyers to take legal action against Grizzly Research after the short seller published a report claiming the firm has a "close relationship" with Russia that "poses a threat to Western national security." Pirelli has instructed lawyers at Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici Studio Legale Associato to "take action in all jurisdictions against those who have spread this false information" in efforts to "protect all shareholders and the company's good name," the company said in a Thursday statement.
It came after a Grizzly Research report claimed to have found a disparity between Pirelli's publicly disclosed earnings and those it claims to have found in Russian filings. Many major tire makers, including Michelin, Continental, Goodyear and Bridgestone, were forced to accept major write-downs as they exited their Russian businesses in the wake of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Pirelli said at the time it would halt further investment in the country. "General investor perception seems to be that Russia is a rather irrelevant part of Pirelli's current operations," Grizzly said.
"Our research portrays a different picture." The short seller, which last month made similar accusations of Russian links against German prosthetics firm Ottobock, claimed Russian filings imply that 10% of Pirelli's net profits come from its operations in the country. This compares to the tire maker's claim that just 6% of revenues come from Russia, the Middle East, Africa and India combined.
"We suspect this growth in the Russian business may be driven by demand from the Russian invasion of Ukraine," Grizzly said. "We found that the tire center in occupied Ukraine listed on Pirelli's website serves the Russian military, and that Pirelli's employees, aware that the buyer was purchasing tires for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, shared contact details for placing an order."
The BriefWire