Benetton buys 2 pct stake in Club Med -report
PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - Italy's Benetton retail family (BNG.MI) has bought a two percent stake in loss-making French holiday resort group Club Med (CMIP.PA), business newspaper Les Echos reported on its website on Friday.
Benetton declined to comment on the situation while officials at Club Med could not be immediately reached for comment on the situation.
Club Med is currently trying to fend off the attentions of flamboyant French businessman Bernard Tapie, who has bought a 1 percent stake in the company and is considering forcing the group to change its management and strategy.
Tapie is a former Socialist minister who has been rehabilitating himself after being hit with corruption charges in the early 1990s.
Tapie, who was also a one-time president of soccer club Olympique Marseille, resigned from government in 1993 after he was placed under formal investigation by a judge for complicity in corruption.
He was found guilty and sentenced to several months in prison. He has since turned to acting and sports commentary.
Club Med shares were up 7.1 percent at 10.99 euros in late afternoon trade, giving the company a market capitalisation of around 283 million euros ($394 million). The stock fell 72 percent last year. ($1=.7183 Euro) (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by David Jones)
