France’s financial regulatorAmf has given Investindustrial private equity fund  until  June 30 at 6pm French time to launch a counter-bid for Club Méditerranée (download here the Amf’s press release). The press release by Amf was sent out yesterday evening after Club Med’s shares closed at 19.56 euros  (+2.09%) that is the top level since October 2008. At that price Club Med’s market capitalization was 653 million euros on a basis of  a shareholders’ capital made of  33.377.923 shares.
Amf also extended again, until an unspecified date, the deadline for Club Med shareholders to decide whether to accept a long-delayed 557 million euro offer by Chinese conglomerate Fosun and French private equity firm Ardian. The deadline had already previously been extended until June 6.
Before the Amf sent away its press release, Gaillon Invest, the investment vehicle of  Fosun and Ardian, said Reuters on Tuesday it had no plan to raise its 17.50 euro per share takeover bid for Club Mediterrannee. And this was even if Club Med’s shares market price has been quoting quite higher in the last few weeks and even if last Monday May 26th Investindustrial said it was going to prepare all the necessary means for launching a possibile takeover bid on Club Med on its own  (see a previous post of BeBeez).
It sounds hard then that Gaillon might change its mind after Amf’s press release is pushing Investindustrial’s principal partners Andrea Bonomi to launch a counter-bid.  The latter actually will be launched however only after a deep due diligence will be made which Investindustrial told is going to take 5 weeks’ time. Moreover the offer will be launched only with Club Med’s Board approval. In that case Strategic Holdings, the investment veichle owned by the Bonomi family through its BI-Invest holding, will be a minority coinvestor with Investindustrial.
Should Investindustrial choose not to submit a bid for Club Med by June 30, it would be barred from making an offer for a period of six months, the Amf  also said.
