PARIS (Reuters) – Shares in French care homes operator Korian fell on Wednesday after the Le Parisien newspaper reported that Korian could face further legal complaints over the way it handles its care homes.
Korian shares shed 3.9% in early session trading, the worst performer on France’s SBF-120 equity index, dragging down the shares of its rival Orpea which fell around 1%.
Le Parisien reported that a French lawyer acting on behalf of relatives of former residents of Korian facilities in France was planning to file complaints against the company.
Korian said in a statement that it was never contacted by the lawyer about those complaints and could therefore not make any comment.
“We make sure that every serious situation brought to our attention is duly reported to the authorities,” it added.
The shares of Korian and its rival Orpea have fallen sharply this year after a book by a French investigative journalist in January alleged there had been severe failings in care in an Orpea nursing home in a wealthy Paris suburb.
In March, the French government said it planned to file a criminal complaint against Orpea.
Orpea responded at the time by saying that while the government report “does shed light on certain dysfunctions”, it also “allows us to conclude that there is no organised ‘system’ that would lead to widespread abuse.”
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Editing by Louise Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
