PARIS — Andrea C. Bonomi, the Italian businessman who is fighting a Chinese investor for Club Méditerranée, raised his bid on Friday for the French resort operator, extending the life of what is already France’s longest-running takeover battle.
Mr. Bonomi’s Global Resorts consortium said it was now offering 24 euros, or $29.65, a share, topping the €23.50 offered on Monday by Gaillon Invest II, a rival consortium led by Fosun Industrial, a Chinese conglomerate that has the backing of Club Med’s management.
The new bid, the third time in less than a month that the price has been raised, also includes Club Med’s convertible shares and values the company at €915 million, Global Resorts said in a statement. The consortium recently increased its financial muscle by opening its doors to the Wall Street private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts as a minority investor.
Mr. Bonomi insisted that his rivals’ strategy overemphasized Asian growth at the expense of Europe’s and said it unrealistically aimed on moving upmarket in search of profit.
“China is important, but it’s not unique,” he told a Paris news conference. “You can’t be strong elsewhere if you’re not strong in your own country.”
Global Resorts said the new offer was “fully financed with equity, which allows for the continuation of the industrial expansion strategy of Club Méditerranée and return to profitable growth.”
Club Med has been “in play” since May 2013, when management announced a plan with Fosun and AXA Private Equity, now known as Ardian, to take the company private at €17 a share; opposition from minority shareholders led them to raise the offer to €17.50. Mr. Bonomi upended what had been looking like a sure deal in June with a €21-a-share offer.
The French market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers, has begun to accelerate the bidding process in a push for a conclusion after a year and a half of uncertainty. The authority, which had given Mr. Bonomi until Dec. 17 to raise his bid or walk away, said on Friday that it was setting a Dec. 19 deadline for Fosun and its allies to act.
The regulator also has the option of asking for sealed counterbids to end the process, a prospect that might open it to legal challenge.
Club Med shares rose 2.2 percent on Friday afternoon to €24.33, suggesting investors expected a counterbid from the Chinese group.
Fosun’s Gaillon Invest II is “reviewing the situation,” a spokeswoman said.
Club Med, which operates 70 vacation villages in 40 countries around the world, last year played host to about 1.2 million visitors. Its business performance has weakened as its core European customer base has suffered since the financial crisis. Both bidders say they will invest more in fast-growing emerging markets including China and Brazil, and in many ways their offers have begun to look similar.
Fosun, based in Shanghai, is led by the Chinese tycoon Guo Guangchang. Working with Henri Giscard d’Estaing, the Club Med chief executive, the Chinese company and its allies raised their own offer on Monday with the help of additional financial might provided by a Brazilian investor, Nelson Tanure.
Mr. Giscard d’Estaing told DealBook this week that he still strongly supported the Fosun-led bid, praising the company’s “long-term perspective.” Mr. Bonomi’s bid, he said, could succeed only at the cost of “massive cost-cutting, including jobs, and massive selling of assets.”
On Friday, Mr. Bonomi sought to quiet employees’ fears, saying he had no plans for layoffs, although, he added, “naturally, there will be a growth plan and some changes.”
He said he intended to replace the management, installing the former chief executive Serge Trigano, who left the company in 1997, in a top spot.
Mr. Bonomi also said he planned to take the company private, with no return to the stock market for at least three years.
“Club Med has a need for a quiet period,” he said. “How can we relaunch for the long term with short-term promises?”
Laure Fourquet contributed reporting.
An earlier version of this article misspelled the given name of the Club Med chief executive. He is Henri Giscard d'Estaing, not Henry. The given name of the former Club Med chief executive was also misspelled. He is Serge Trigano, not Sergio.