HNA Group has announced a definitive transaction to acquire gategroup.

HNA Group has announced a definitive transaction to acquire gategroup.

The Chinese company has offered an all cash deal at US$55.60 per share, valuing the Swiss aviation and travel services giant at approximately US$1.47 billion.

The gategroup board of directors has unanimously resolved to support the public tender offer and to recommend its acceptance to shareholders.

The public offer is subject to a minimum acceptance condition of 67 per cent and the approval of all regulatory and merger control authorities and other customary closing conditions.

The deal represents another major consolidation in the aviation services industry.

Both companies’ interests include highly successful travel retail activities.

As reported, gategroup recently acquired Scandinavian travel retailer Inflight Service Group, boosting the Swiss company’s already strong presence in the inflight and wider travel retail and on-board sectors.

HNA Group is a privately owned Fortune Global 500 Corporation headquartered in Haikou, Hainan Island, China with operations in the aviation sector, infrastructure and real estate, financial services, tourism (including duty free retailing) and logistics.

HNA’s dedicated tourism business arm, HNA Tourism Group, was named the World’s Leading Integrated Tourism Group at the World Travel Awards last December, the first Chinese company to receive the accolade.

HNA Group has become a leading player in the emergence of Hainan Island, China as a tourism destination and is closely involved in the island’s fast-growing duty free industry.

HNA vice chairman Adam Tan said: “We are excited of welcoming gategroup to the HNA family and look forward to jointly embarking on the next stage of gategroup’s development.

“Our offer delivers an attractive proposal for all of gategroup’s stakeholders, providing shareholders with an attractive premium in cash, offering management and employees good career opportunities in one of the world’s largest aviation groups and underpinning gategroup’s long-term development with a responsible industrial ownership structure.”