Grifols S.A., the Spanish parent company of private plasma collection centers, has taken full ownership of its Canadian operations as revealed in recent corporate documents. This move follows internal changes made by the company since it temporarily closed its facilities last month due to Health Canada concerns and the departure of a key director who established many of Grifols' Canadian centers. The acquisition involved purchasing 50.1% of CPR, renamed "Grifols Canada Plasma Corporation," for $27 million in shares, though contractual arrangements limit Grifols’ control over operational decisions.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The Spanish parent company of the Grifols chain of private plasma collection centres has taken over full ownership of its Canadian operations, according to corporate documents.
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company → take → documents
The disclosures shed light on internal changes the company is making as it works to address concerns from Health Canada since announcing a temporary closure last month, including parting ways with a director who started many of the company’s Canadian collection centres.
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who → shed → centres
Grifols is the country’s only major commercial collector of plasma, a golden-coloured fluid found in blood that is used to make medicine.
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that → find → medicine
The company operates in Canada as part of an agreement signed with Canadian Blood Services in 2022.
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company → operate → 2022
CBS relies on volunteers for blood and plasma donations, while Grifols pays donors.
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Grifols → rely → donors
CBS spends more than $1-billion per year on supplying hospitals with drugs made from plasma and other related products.
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CBS → spend → plasma
The company’s locations, including its head office, have received multiple “non-compliant” ratings from Health Canada inspectors in the past year.
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locations → include → year
The company’s plasma collection sites have been closed to donors since Aug. 14, two days after Health Canada delivered its most recent critical review.
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Canada → close → review
Grifols said it would use the temporary closure to retrain staff and work with Health Canada and CBS to improve its operations.
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it → say → operations
Recent corporate disclosures show the company has also used the time to revamp some of its internal leadership.
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company → show → leadership
Grifols owns 17 collection centres across six provinces, as well as a pharmaceutical factory in Montreal.
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Grifols → own → Montreal
Most of those collection sites were started by other companies before Grifols bought them.
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Grifols → start → them
Ten of those centres were started by a company called Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR), whose co-founder and chief executive officer was Barzin Bahardoust.
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founder → start → company
Grifols announced in the summer of 2023, after reaching its agreement with Canadian Blood Services, that it intended to acquire CPR.
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it → announce → CPR
According to financial statements and an interim directors’ report released on July 28, the publicly traded Grifols S.A. and its subsidiaries acquired 50.1 per cent of CPR two years later, on Nov. 1, 2025, and renamed the company to “Grifols Canada Plasma Corporation.”
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S.A. → accord → Corporation
The transaction was worth $27-million, paid in shares, which included transaction costs.
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which → pay → costs
But even with a majority ownership, the documents said “the governance structure and the contractual arrangements in place restrict Grifols’ ability to control Grifols Canada Plasma Corporation.”
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structure → say → Corporation
The documents continue that the “management and direction” of the company’s activities correspond to its “Sole Director,” who “holds full decision-making authority over operating activities − including the approval of the business plan, the annual budget, the dividend policy, and the direction of operations − without any contractual mechanisms requiring such decisions to be submitted to Grifols for approval."
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who → continue → approval
The financial documents said Grifols and its subsidiaries had an agreement to purchase the remaining shares of the Canadian operation starting in January of 2027.
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Grifols → say → 2027
The final price would be determined by a formula that included the volume of plasma collected by the Canadian operations.
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that → determine → operations
Canadian corporate records show that as of late July the only director listed for Grifols Canada Plasma Corporation was Mr. Bahardoust, the former chief executive officer of CPR.
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director → show → CPR
But on Sept. 1, Grifols changed the directors of the Canadian corporation to remove Mr. Bahardoust and replace him with three Grifols executives, one based in Canada, one based in the United States and one based in Spain.
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Grifols → change → Spain
Grifols told The Globe and Mail in an unsigned statement that it is now the sole shareholder of the Canadian corporation.
“In connection with this transition, Mr. Bahardoust is no longer a corporate director nor is he currently employed by or contracted by Grifols,” the company said.
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company → tell → Grifols
Mr. Bahardoust did not respond to a request for comment.
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Bahardoust → respond → comment
Grifols said it has been a long-time supplier of plasma-derived drugs to Canadians and has invested more than $1-billion in its Canadian operations, including the construction of the drug manufacturing facility in Montreal.
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it → say → Montreal
Grifols’ agreement with CBS calls for it to collect 600,000 litres of plasma per year in Canada.
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it → call → Canada
The company said it collected about 400,000 litres in 2025.
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it → say → 2025
The company did not say when it expects to start collecting plasma again in Canada.
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it → say → Canada
“Collection activities are expected to resume as soon as feasible, in agreement with Health Canada on the requirements and conditions for reopening,” Grifols said.
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Grifols → expect → requirements
Alexandre Bergeron, spokesperson for federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel, said Health Canada was continuing to work with the company on corrective active plans for its locations.
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Canada → say → locations
The Aporia
