Fosun International Ltd and its partners made a new offer to Club Mediterranee SA, restarting the battle over the French resort company by posting a larger bid than its Italian rival, Global Resorts. The renewed bid amounts to €22 per share.
Fosuns improved offer values Club Med at €839 million ($1.08 billion), including convertible bonds. This exceeds Global Resorts bid of €21 per share by 6.2%.
“We are presenting the highest offer and the best liquidity for all the company’s shareholders,” Jiannong Qian, head of the Gaillon Invest II investment vehicle associated with the Fosun group, said in the statement, which was cited by Bloomberg. “The offer is based on a long-term industrial plan. It is in line with Club Med’s strategy and is supported by the management.” Jiannong Qian is already a member of Club Meds board.
September 12th was set as a deadline by the French regulator Autorite des Marches Financiers for making any bid to compete with Global Resorts. Fosun revealed that its offer would be made through Gaillon Invest II, a vehicle comprising Fosun, the French private equity firm Ardian, and Beijing UTour International Travel Service Co, which is a Chinese travel agent.
Gaillon Invest II also plans to open its capital to new partners. Fosun currently owns an 85.1% stake in the vehicle, while Ardian has 5%. Club Med chairman and Chief Executive Henri Giscard dEstaing owns a 2.5% stake, and UTour has 7.5%.
Fosun started purchasing shares of Club Med four years ago. The company managed to boost its initial 7.1% stake to just under 10% and began to strategically work in collaboration with the operator in order to attract more Chinese tourists to its resorts.
On Friday, Fosun explained that it expects the group to gain share in mature markets and that it plans to list Club Med on the Euronext Paris exchange.
Fosun International Ltd fell by 1.1% on Friday in Hong Kong to close at HK$9.82 per share, marking a one-year change of +55.25%. The company is valued at HK$68.74 billion.
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