By Michael Elkins
Electric vehicle maker, Nio Inc. (NYSE:NIO) announced on Monday that the company has decided to “form an independent committee” to oversee an investigation into a recent short-seller report made by Grizzly Research.
On June 28th, Grizzly Research posted a report titled “We Believe NIO Plays Valeant-esque Accounting Games to Inflate Revenue and Boost Net Income Margins to Meet Targets.” The report alleges that Nio is using Wuhan Weineng, a battery asset company formed by Nio as well as other investors, to artificially inflate revenue and net income by as much as 10% and 95% respectively.
The EV maker answered the day after saying the report “contains numerous errors, unsupported speculations, and misleading conclusions and interpretations.”
“The Independent Committee has retained independent professional advisors to assist with the Independent Investigation, including an international law firm and a well-regarded forensic accounting firm,” the company added.
In addition, NIO also reiterated its “continued and unwavering commitment to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and internal control, as well as transparent and timely disclosure in compliance with applicable rules and regulations.”