A long-running battle over the future of French holiday-resort group Club Med took a twist yesterday with the withdrawal of French and Chinese bidders.
Ardian, a French investment firm, and Chinese conglomerate Fosun International (復星) had made an offer of 17.50 euros (US$23.43) per share, valuing Club Med at nearly 600 million euros.
They made the bid via a company called Gallion Invest that announced yesterday that it was pulling out, although people close to the matter said that Fosun might still have its eye on Club Med.
This came the day after the French stock market authority AMP had authorized a rival bid of 21 euros per share by Italian businessman Andrea Bonomi who owns 10.56 percent of Club Med stock.
That valued Club Med at 790 million euros.
Ardian owns 8.3 percent of Club Med, and Fosun 10 percent.
The decision by Ardian and Fosun to drop their bid reduces any chances that bid terms may be increased, and the price of shares in Club Med was showing a fall of 1.07 percent to 21.22 euros in morning trading in Paris.
The Club Med board has been obliged reluctantly to consider the Bonomi offer.
A statement by Gaillon Invest said that Fosun was considering its options.
Bonomi wants to speed up Club Med’s development in Asia, but also sees opportunities in France, Europe and the Americas.
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