Club Med board recommends takeover

Club Med board recommends takeover
By admin


The board of directors of French holiday firm Club Med have unanimously recommended that shareholders accept an improved bid from Chinese conglomerate Fosun and its partners.

The board considered the Fosun offer the best deal financially, "conforming more with the interests of the company, its employees and it shareholders," Club Med said in a statement.

They unanimously approved the revised bid made via a vehicle called "Gaillon Invest II", in which Fosun has the main interest of 85.1 per cent. Its French ally Ardian would hold 5.0 per cent, Chinese travel company U-Tour 7.5 per cent and Club Med executives 2.5 per cent.

Fosun and its allies had made a counter-bid outflanking Italian businessman Andrea Bonomi by 4.8 per cent, valuing Club Med at 839 million euros ($A1.26 billion), they said in September.

Club Med, once famous for thatched-roofed, free-wheeling holiday villages which inspired a popular comedy film in France, is coveted for its potential to appeal to new middle classes in emerging economies.

In its early days, Club Med was associated very much with the French way of having fun, and was seen as a strong French brand. If shareholders approve the Fosun offer, the company will come under strong Chinese influence, but will retain a listing on the Euronext market in Paris.

Fosun and its partners have said that they would boost Club Med's strategy of developing market shares in mature markets, notably in France, and in rapidly growing markets such as China, Brazil, Russia, and South East Asia.

Club Med first became a high-profile name in the European tourism industry because it offered holidays in somewhat hippy style villages where sports activities were included.

It has since moved up-market, weathered financial storms in the process, and is now looking for further expansion, including in China.

Latest News

  • Aviation

Top four airports report return to profit after post-Covid period comes to an end

The aeronautical operations of Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney airports returned to profit in 2022-23, the first full financial year since the end of COVID-19 travel restrictions, the ACCC’s latest Airport Monitoring Report shows. In contrast, all four monitored airports reported losses on their aeronautical operations in 2021-22. A return to profit was helped by […]

  • Luxury

COMO launches new family-sized farmhouse in the heart of Tuscany

COMO Hotels and Resorts has launched its new farmhouse apartments in the heart of Tuscany, just in time for Australians to escape our wet winter. And it’s also an ideal time for Aussies of Italian ancestry to explore their home country as 2024 has been declared the year of Roots and Heritage Tourism by the […]

  • Aviation

Green light, green fuel for Townsville Airport as passenger numbers set to double to 3.7m

The Townsville Airport Master Plan, including the expansion of the airport terminal and development of the surrounding precinct, has been given the green light by the Federal Government. The 2023 plan outlined Townsville Airport’s strategic vision and growth objectives over the next two decades, with a detailed focus on the initial eight years. Townsville Airport […]

  • Destinations
  • News

New Caledonia in lockdown and airport closed after violent riots rock Noumea

New Caledonia officials have announced a 6pm-6am curfew, a liquor ban and have closed the country’s main airport after overnight riots in which vehicles were torched and roads blocked in the wake of proposed constitutional reforms. Australian Government website Smartraveller has issued an alert informing visitors to exercise a high degree of caution in metropolitan […]