Rural Funds Group Ltd (ASX: RFF) shares are up 26% to $1.72 this morning but still down around 27% since short selling research house Bonitas Research launched a withering assault on the group.
Some of Bonitas's explosive allegations included that RFF had been falsely inflating rental income received and having the value of its assets falsely inflated in order to help it raise up to $475 million since FY 2014.
However, this morning Rural Funds Group labelled almost every single accusation "incorrect" and repeatedly told investors it stood by its audited accounts.
It also claimed it'll be vindicated by an independent review it has asked Ernst & Young to complete probably within the next three weeks.
Rural Funds management's chairman also stated he's deliberately providing little detail to back up his rebuttals as this might mean the dispute becomes "interminable".
The argument apparently being the more detail provided the more material Bonitas might have to seize upon in response and that RFF would rather wait for E&Y to deliver its verdict.
While 'low-on-detail' is an original approach, you can understand why some shareholders might expect more and anyone is free to come to their own conclusions on what the strategy might mean.
Elsewhere, another popular business that has been the target of short sellers recently in Treasury Wine Estates Limited (ASX: TWE) also went to the market this morning to rubbish the bearish claims of a Hong Kong-based research analyst.
