New | Fosun buys into Thomas Cook Group as conglomerate boosts overseas investments
Fosun International, which has been snapping up tourism assets as part of a buying spree abroad, has gained a foothold in the British holiday market with a 5 per cent stake in Thomas Cook Group.
Fosun, controlled by Guo Guangchang, paid £91.9 million (HK$1.08 billion) for the stake in the world’s oldest travel group, and plans to double that holding, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday.
China’s overseas investment in tourism jumped tenfold to a record US$6.19 billion in 2014, from US$618 million in 2013, according to Mergermarket, which tracks mergers and acquisitions.
Fosun made the Thomas Cook acquisition through its Portuguese insurance subsidiary Fidelidade-Companhia de Seguros.
The conglomerate plans to acquire more shares of Thomas Cook in the open market “at the appropriate time” to increase its stake to 10 per cent, Fosun added.
Thomas Cook’s strong brand heritage and leading position in the European travel market, together with (Fosun’s) expertise and resources, will capitalise on the increasing demand for international leisure travel
London-listed Thomas Cook had sales of £8.5 billion in the fiscal year to September 2014. It has 27,000 employees.