Short Sellers Raised Bets Against Worldline Before Fraud Reports

Short sellers raised their wagers against Worldline SA’s bonds and shares in the days leading up to news reports that the French firm allegedly covered up fraud by some of its customers.

The amount of bonds maturing in 2030 out on loan — a measure of short interest — rose to almost 78 million on Tuesday, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. That’s more than three times the level on June 12. Meanwhile, short interest as measured by the percent of outstanding shares out on loan has risen by more than two percentage points over the past week, according to the data. The stock selloff on Wednesday wiped out €500 million ($585 million) off the company’s market value.