Wifi firm Gowex to respond Monday to damaging report

Spanish firm Let’s Gowex, which offers free wifi in public spaces including in Paris and New York, says it will issue a written response on Monday to a damaging US report that sent its shares plummeting. Market regulators suspended Gowex shares on Thursday after they dropped 60.2 percent to 7.92 euros in 2 days following US firm Gotham City Research’s highly critical report, which is disputed by Gowex. Gowex said the suspension in trading of its shares will remain in force as it prepares a detailed rebuttal, with supporting documents, of the ‘unfounded and defamatory claims’ made by Gotham City Research. Gowex said it would submit its response on Monday to Madrid’s junior stock market, the Alternative Equity Market, where its shares are traded. The alternative market, which handles shares of smaller companies seeking capital for growth, said on Thursday it was suspending Gowex shares until the company specified ‘in the greatest detail possible’ its response to the Gotham City report. The Spanish stock market authorities said on Wednesday they were looking into possible abuse of the market by Gotham City Research and had asked the US and British regulators for information about the firm. In a report on Tuesday, Gotham City Research called Gowex a ‘charade’ and said its revenues were far lower than the company reported. On Wednesday, Gowex replied by issuing a statement confirming its 2013 revenues of 182.6 million euros ($249 million) and stressing that the figures had been audited, according to AFP.