Shanghai: Chinese conglomerate Fosun International said it has bought a 5 per cent stake in British travel group Thomas Cook Group, deepening its foray into Europe’s tourism sector after buying French holidaymaker Club Med last month.
Fosun paid £91.9 million (Dh513 million) for the stake and will seek to double its holding in Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel group, to 10 per cent, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday. The purchase could help Fosun promote holiday packages at Club Mediterranee SA (Club Med) as it looks to turn around the firm’s struggling business in Europe and move more aggressively into fast-growing markets such as China.
“The investment in Thomas Cook complements other recent investments of the group in the sector, providing opportunities for further value creation,” Fosun chairman Guo Guangchang said in the filing. He said there was “increasing demand for international leisure travel”.
The purchase, in the form of a new share issuance at 125.59 pence a share, is being done by Fosun’s subsidiary Companhia de Seguros. The price represents a 4.1 per cent premium to Thomas Cook’s closing price on Thursday.
Thomas Cook is in the middle of a cost-saving plan, but aims to grow this year despite facing tough trading conditions in mainland Europe. It made a loss of around $80 million (Dh293 million) in the three months to December 31 last year.
Fosun’s bid for Club Med, which valued the firm at around $1.15 billion, was finalised in early February.
