PARIS â€" The biggest shareholders of Club Med, the French resort operator, won over the company’s board on Tuesday with a sweetened offer as they prepare to take over the company for a big push in China.
Fosun International, the investment unit of a major Chinese conglomerate, and its French partner, Axa Private Equity, said in a statement that they had raised their offer to 17.50 euros, or $22.95, a share from the 17 euros that they had offered on May 27. They also agreed to pay 19.79 euros for each of the company’s convertible bonds, up from 19.23 euros.
The new offer values the company at about euros 562 million.
The board said in a separate statement that it had ‘‘unanimously’’ backed the bid after studying a report by an independent expert that concluded the new offer fairly valued the company. Four members of the board, including the chairman and chief executive Henri Giscard d’Estaing, are involved in the planned takeover and recused themselves from the discussions,according to the statement.
Fosun and Axa, which along with Club Med’s top executives own 19.33 percent of the resort company, said they were ‘‘pleased that the board of Club Méditerranée, after acknowledging the amended terms of the offer, has unanimously considered it in the interest of the company, its shareholders and its employees.’’
The investors want to take Club Med private to expand its focus on Asia, especially its offerings for Chinese tourists, who have become the biggest spenders in global tourism. The partners have proposed operating the company in a joint venture to be held 46 percent by Axa Private Equity and 46 percent by Fosun, with the remainder held by Club Med managers.
The potential acquirors argue that having Fosun, one of the largest privately held companies in China, in a leading role will help smooth the roll-out of new resorts in Asia. And Mr. Giscard d’Estaing has said that creating a new ownership structure will create essential shareholder! and management stability for the new undertaking.
Club Med has branched out internationally in recent decades, but has nonetheless been weighed down by the ailing European market. The company’s share price, which had languished for years, soared more than 20 percent on May 27 on the prospect of a buy-out that represented a 23 percent premium over its closing price on the previous day.
After the revised offer Tuesday, Club Med shares rose 2 percent, to 17.66 euros, in morning trading in Paris on Tuesday.
Some minority shareholders had argued that the original offer undervalued the company and questioned the rationale for taking it private.
Colette Neuville, a French shareholder activist, told Reuters last month, that ‘‘the problem is that management will get an entry price into a holding that could fully take advantage of the progression of the share price, while other shareholders are being offered the same price, but to exit.’’
The revised offer appears to have won ver at least some of the doubters. On Tuesday, three institutional shareholders â€" Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion du Maroc, Rolaco and Holding Edizione Benetton â€" which together own about 14.9 percent of the shares â€" ‘‘decided to tender their shares to the offer,’’ according to the statement.
Fosun and Axa have said their offer is conditional on more than 50 percent of the shares being tendered. With those shareholders now backing the two main bidders, more than 34 percent of the shares have now committed to the deal.
