Club Med takeover pushed back to earliest March 2014

Two minority shareholder groups appealed the regulator's decision to greenlight Club Med's takeover back in July. Although the move was initially understood to have delayed a potential deal by six months, the Paris Court of Appeal stated it will not hold a hearing until the end of February 2014. A verdict, which could unfreeze the process, is not expected before mid-March.

Axa PE and Fosun initially planned on offering of €17 per share to Club Med shareholders – they later revised their bid to €17.5, an offer welcomed by the company's board at the end of June. The offer would value the company at around €557m.

Investment fund Charity & Investment Merger Arbitrage Fund (CIAM) and Adam, a French minority shareholders association, deemed the offer too low. CIAM also argued the conflicts of interests caused by the deal have not been sufficiently explained. In its view, the issue lies in the large package of preferred shares awarded to management. CIAM bought up nearly 1% of Club Med shares in May following the announcement of the proposed takeover. It then claimed that the deal was unfair because it had not been offered the same treatment.

Founded in 1950, Club Med operates holiday resorts across the world. The Paris-based company posted a €1.5bn turnover and a €126m EBITDA in 2012.

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