Carson Block Shreds American Tower, Warns Of Misstatements, And Explains Why Its Stock Will Collapse In This Brief Presentation

Muddy Waters founder Carson Block took communications powerhouse American Tower Corp to task on Bloomberg Market Makers yesterday.

Block's research firm is out with a new report that casts doubt over AMT's work in emerging markets, hinting that the company has been misleading, if not outright fraudulent.

"We rate AMT a Strong Sell and value it at $44.57 per share, representing downside of 40%," Muddy Waters writes in the report. "It has engaged in a value destroying investment binge overseas, and we have identified a significant material misstatement in the Company’s accounts that could amount to fraud."

Muddy Waters flagged one transaction in particular, a $585 million purchase of towers in Brazil. "There is an approximately US$250 million discrepancy between what AMT claims to have paid for the acquisition of towers in Brazil, and the actual selling price," according to the report.

Muddy Waters provided the research to the SEC.