Burford poked the bear – Muddy Waters lashes back
Burford Capital has hit back at the claims made by Muddy Waters. Muddy Waters has subsequently counter-attacked with another unflattering note. Here's our take on the strength of the defence.
First a reminder of the events to date: 06/08/19 – Muddy Waters revealed it was short Burford and would be releasing a note to confirm its doubts about the company. The firm has since revealed that it took a 0.71% short stake in Burford on 5 August. This point is significant to us. Short positions can only be built if shareholders in the target company are willing to lend out their shares. 07/08/19 – Muddy Waters releases its short dossier claiming that Burford “egregiously” misrepresented its profit figures. The note points to seven individual cases where internal rates of return…