London: The world’s oldest travel company Thomas Cook edged closer to a break up on Monday after its biggest shareholder, China’s
Fosun Tourism, made a preliminary approach for the British group’s core holiday operations.
The 178-year-old company, battered by fading demand for its package holidays, high debt and a hot 2018 summer in Europe which deterred bookings, is also weighing approaches for its airline business and Nordic operations as it seeks to raise cash.
Shares in Thomas Cook rose more than 13% to give the company a market valuation of around £280 million. Fosun Tourism already has a presence in the European market through its ownership of the Club Med holiday business, and has an 18% stake in Thomas Cook.
Were it to succeed in buying the British company’s hotel and resort business it would mark one of the most significant purchases of a British company by a Chinese group in years. The tour operator business of Thomas Cook had 11 million customers in 2018, producing £7.4 billion in revenue. That compared with revenue of £3.5 billion pounds for the airline business, although the airline has a higher margin.