French assets attract Chinese attention

The proposed $1.3 billion takeover of Club Mediterranee SA by billionaire Guo Guangchang and investors in December marked the busiest year for takeovers of French companies by Chinese suitors to date.

The offer for the Paris-based resort operator lifted the tally of Chinese companies buying French targets in 2014 to 13 separate deals worth a total of $4 billion - both measures at the highest level in at least a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The takeover also marks the largest amount paid by a Chinese suitor to take control of a French company in that period.