Investindustrial and KKR withdraw Club Med bid

The Investindustrial consortium, which also includes KKR and Investindustrial founder Andrea Bonomi, reportedly deemed the valuation reached as a result of a long-running bidding war to be too high.

The development is the latest twist in a battle spanning more than 18 months, with the initial bid announcement by Ardian and Fosun's Gaillon vehicle taking place in May 2013.

According to the Financial Times, the business would undertake an international expansion strategy under Ardian and Fosun, with plans to open resorts in emerging markets including China.

The Club Med saga has featured a number of setbacks for the Gaillon vehicle, including appeals made by two minority shareholder groups against the regulator's decision to greenlight its takeover bid.

On top of this, in May 2014 Italian holding Edizione (owned by the Benetton family) reneged on its pledge to sell its stake in Club Med to Gaillon, prompting a threat of legal action by the potential acquirer.

The Ardian/Fosun consortium eventually withdrew from the race for the France-based holiday resorts business in August 2014 before re-entering the bidding in September with an offer of €22m per share and €23.23 per convertible bond.

Investindustrial-led Global Resorts responded in November with a revised bid of €23 per share, with KKR joining the consortium. The offer for a 91.5% stake valued the business at €874m after fees, and €914m in total.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• France
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• KKR
• Investindustrial