FOSUN International plans to float its Club Med holiday business in Hong Kong and raise up to US$700 million, sources said, three years after it won the global resorts operator in a long-running takeover saga.

Its unit Fosun Tourism Group, which includes Club Med as well as a luxury resort in the southern Chinese seaside city of Sanya, did not give details of the share offering in a prospectus released late Monday.

It was not clear how much of the company would be offered to the market.

Tourism is a key profit growth driver for its parent, Fosun International, which won control of Club Med in 2015 for 939 million euros (US$1.09 billion) after what was then France’s longest takeover saga lasting almost two years.

Fosun reorganized its businesses in 2016, creating Fosun Tourism Group and paving the way for the latter’s listing plan.

Club Med now operates in more than 40 countries and has resorts in more than 26 countries and regions, according to the prospectus.

The initial public offering (IPO) proceeds will be used mainly to expand the existing business, acquire rights to additional land, fund potential investments and repay outstanding bank loans.

The planned listing comes as tourism assumes a bigger role in China’s plans to develop a consumption-driven economy less reliant on investment and exports. China has set a goal to raise tourism revenue to 7 trillion yuan (US$1.03 trillion) by 2020, from 5.3 trillion yuan last year. (SD-Agencies)