Fosun Group acquired 5% equity in Thomas Cook for 91.8 million GBP on March 6 and intends to increase its stake to 10% in the future.
In contrast to the mixed reviews on its of Club Med acquisition , Fosun’s Thomas Cook deal is viewed positively by global analysts, and Thomas Cook’s share price soared 20% from around 1.2 GBP to 1.46 GBP in a show of confidence.
A leading UK leisure travel company listed on the London Stock Exchange, Thomas Cook reported 9.3 billion GBP in sales revenue in 2013 and has 27,000 staff in 15 countries. With Europe its current field of ooperations, the company is eager to tap into the Chinese market in the future. Fosun being the largest single shareholder of China’s leading travel group CITS is the perfect business partner for future collaborations in the Chinese market.
Thomas Cook and Fosun plan to develop a new hotel chain brand for the Chinese market. Fosun will also acquire Thomas Cook’s 220 concept hotels for 500 million euros and get a firmer foothold in the European market.
Fosun leverages on last year’s acquisition Caixia Seguros as a strategic platform for extending its investments in Europe. The leading Portuguese insurance company is the vehicle for Fosun’s equity bids for Portuguese national electric power company REN, Portuguese medical service provider ESS, German Fashion brand Tom Tailor and now Thomas Cook.
In a departure from its conservative investment strategy of the past, limited to Portuguese bonds with limited business or stock investments, Caixia Seguros has been transformed to become Fosun’s means to meet voracious appetite for European acquisitions. (Translation by David)
