The Chinese conglomerate Fosun is expected to acquire the Thomas Cook brand, as well as the Casa Cook and Cook’s Club hotels, according to information from Shanghai.
Terms of the agreement, the assets Fosun acquired include the trademarks, domain names, software applications, social media accounts and licenses of Thomas Cook and related hotel brands.
Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel firm, collapsed in late September succumbing to massive debt from ill-fated deals, that hobbled its response to more nimble online rivals. The British agency’s collapse caused the loss of 2,500 jobs lost and triggered the rescue of 150,000 travelers from the UK. This was the largest repatriation of British citizens since World War II.
Fosun Tourism Group announced last Friday it would acquire the Thomas Cook and related hotel brands for £11 million pounds in a bid to expand its presence in the tourism business. Fosun’s Chairman Qian Jiannong said the acquisition would enable the group to expand its tourism business “building on the extensive brand awareness of Thomas Cook and the robust growth momentum of Chinese outbound tourism.”
Also, according to the same sources that provided the information to the Athens News Agency (ANA), Greece is also at the top of a list of destinations where Fosun wants to invest, aiming to strengthen tourist arrivals from China. The Casa Cook and Cook’s Club hotel brands operate a number of hotels in Crete, Rhodes and Cos islands.
Fosun is the biggest private company from China to invest in Europe and owns, among others, the German bank Hauck & Aufhaeuser Privatbankiers and the Portuguese insurance company Fidelidade Cia de Seguros.
Image credit: Thomas Cook storefront via Gwydion M. Williams
[…] The Austrian tour company has responded to this growing demand of the Austrian market for Greek tourism destinations by extending its summer program and increasing the number of airline seats and hotel options, that – until recently – were exclusively offered by Thomas Cook. […]