Chinese, French bidders raise price for Club Med

The Chinese group Fosun and a French investment fund have raised their bid for up-market holiday firm Club Mediterranee and the board has voted for acceptance, the firms said on Tuesday. Fosun and French group AXA Private Equity, already the two main shareholders, raised their bid to 17.5 euros per share from 17.0 euros which small shareholders had objected was not enough. Club Med, as the company is known, said that its board had voted unanimously on Monday in favour of the friendly offer which values the business at 556.89 million euros ($732 million). Club Med will remain a French company and majority control of its capital will remain in French hands. In raising their terms, the two bidders wanted to calm possible objections in French political circles that the company might come under Chinese control. Club Med is a high-profile player in the French tourism sector which has successfully restructured despite financial crisis in Europe. The company returned to profit in 2011 and has refocused its strategy, going up-market, increasing its international activities and aiming for substantial expansion in China. In Asia, Club Med has been active in Japan for more than 20 years and also operates in Thailand, the Maldives, and in Bali, Indonesia. Fosun, which became a shareholder in 2010, is the biggest shareholder with 9.96 percent of the capita. AXA PE owns 9.4 percent of the shares.