TheChek News Flow

The flight catering company stands for weeks because of a power struggle between the Board and major shareholders in the headlines. The two hedge funds RBR Capital Advisors and Advisors Cologny demanded a new composition of the Board and in particular the resignation of President Andreas Schmid. In a set up for her campaign Web site namedSavegategroup.com they give powerful gas. Eagerly look shareholders and Gate Group lace the General counter of this Thursday, where a showdown between the parties is expected. This morning is now the message barged that Bordverpfleger to be sold to the Chinese HNA Group.

The two hedge funds RBR Capital Advisors and Advisors Cologny exert a website public pressure on the gate Group Management Board.

RBR Capital Advisors rejects the offer of 53 Swiss francs per share. The price was far too deep to RBR-founder Rudolf Bohli let quote from the Reuters news agency. The fair prices would be at 100 francs, so Bohli. RBR Capital Advisors holds together with Cologny Advisors 11.3 percent of gategroup shares.

It raises the question whether it is possible the two funds to convince the rest of the shareholders of a negative attitude. On Thursday, the gate Group owners will be able to vote on the offer from China.

Analysts at Vontobel and Zürcher Kantonalbank evaluate the offer positively. "We would accept the offer," it says in a commentary by Vontobel. "We expect that the deal will come through," it says at ZKB, where the analysts write of a "handsome" offer.

Course of gategroup shares over 1 year compared to the SPI. (Source: www.cash.ch)

For IPO, the share of gategroup is immediately rocketed by 17.7 percent to CHF 51.90. The Chinese industrial conglomerate HNA Group has 53 francs in cash per gate Group share. What an assumption of 1.4 billion Swiss francs equivalent to the entire company. The paid price represents a premium of 38 percent over the volume-weighted average price of the last 60 days.

The general meeting will take place as planned this Thursday. As from 27 May, gategroup Shareholders can tender their securities of HNA Group. If 67 percent of the shares on June 23, are transferred to HNA by the end of the Offer Period and no objections from authorities such as the Takeover exist, the deal can be completed. The detailed offer prospectus will be published on 11 May, the HNA Group.

No, in this month's release of gategroup is that HNA intend to delist the company after the acquisition, and to settle as independently managed company in the HNA Group.

Andreas Schmid, yet until 2017 Chairman of the Board of gategroup. (Keystone)

Provisional no. The headquarters in Kloten to be retained, as should be left in the office, the existing management, as in the gate Group announcement means. As the development under the new owners continues, will nevertheless be difficult to assess, since after the departure of the stock market, the gate Group must publish annual reports.

Gategroup is an airline catering company, that specializes in the stores and all the logistics that entails. The Group's roots lie in the Swissair. The former national airline started from 1992 to pass the flight catering under the name Gate Gourmet as a subsidiary. In the course of the Swissair bankruptcy Gate Gourmet in 2002 went to the US private equity firm Texas Pacific Group. Then began a long period of restructuring, which resulted in the IPO renamed Gate Group Company of 2009.

Looking At Catering: When gategroup subsidiary Gate Gourmet prepared tens of thousands of meals daily. (Keystone)

The Gate Group has a turnover of around 3 billion per year. In the last fiscal year, the Group took a loss of 63.4 million Swiss francs. As a reason for the red result restructuring costs, provisions and exchange losses were mentioned. The company is in the midst of a rebuilding phase. Through the so-called Gateway 2020 is to be saved at a cost of 20 million. 2012 already wrote Gategroup a loss. And through a deep crisis was the company in 2011, when then-CEO Guy Dubois had to resign. He was personally in league with an employee that branched CHF 22 million from the company.

HNA Group belongs among others, the Hainan Airlines. (Keystone)

The Chinese HNA Group is a multi-layered network of investments and subsidiaries. The group is divided into five main sections: Aviation (Aviation) Holdings (real estate, retail trade), Capital (financial services, investment banking), tourism (especially hotels), Logistics (logistics companies, freight, shipbuilding).

The conglomerate was founded in 1993, now keeps company with a value of 88 billion Swiss francs, including 11 Listed Companies. The 180,000 employees worldwide generated sales of 26.5 billion Swiss francs.

Boarding stairs of the service company Swissport at the airport in Zurich. (Keystone)

In Switzerland, the HNA Group last year noticed by the acquisition of Swissport. How Gategroup a former Swissair company. Expressed interest HNA also at Kuoni. Spectacular Deals in other countries included the acquisition of the aircraft leasing company Avolon $ 2.5 billion last September or purchase one of the largest IT distribution companies Ingram Micro for 6 billion dollars in February.

ChemChina President Ren Jianxin and Syngenta President Michel Demare. (Keystone)

Several times in the past shorter investors from China have struck in Switzerland. Prominent examples are the acquisitions of watch companies Eterna and Corum by Hainan 2011. A year later Saurer went from OC Oerlikon to the Jinsheng Group. Also in 2012 bought the holding company Baoshida Swissmetal. In Chinese-owned have become the bottle manufacturer Sigg and sports marketing agency Infront. The by far biggest deal made by Chinese investors is the announced acquisition of Syngenta by ChemChina. The Chinese want to pay 43.7 billion francs for the agrochemical company.