Thomas Cook, one of the oldest travel brands in the world, has been acquired by eSky Group in Poland for up to £30 million.
ESky Group, which operates a travel platform in Central and Eastern Europe, acquired the online travel agency from Fosun Tourism Group with terms laid out in an announcement from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Fosun acquired Thomas Cook in late 2019 for £11 million and launched it as an online brand in September of the same year. The company had been rumored to be up for sale to eSky earlier this year.
ESky, which was founded in 2004, operates the eSky and eDestinos brands. The company’s profit exceed £18 million last year, an increase of 42% year over year, according to a statement. The group is part-owned by private equity company MCI.
Łukasz Habaj, co-founder and CEO of the eSky Group, said, “The synergy of Thomas Cook's brand heritage with our technology will drive Thomas Cook’s growth and allow us to strengthen eSky’s position in Western Europe. This acquisition is part of our strategy to diversify from just selling flights to offering package holidays across our existing markets in Europe and Latin America as well as expand further into Western Europe.”
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MCI Capital’s senior investment partner Michał Górecki added that the acquisition is in line with eSky’s expansion strategy as well as its plan to increase its dynamic packaging offering.
“This move will enhance eSky's position and could boost eSky's packages sales beyond €233 million next year, sustaining a three-digit growth rate.”
The Thomas Cook brand will remain, and CEO Alan French will also stay on with the business.
“The completion of this transaction will inject significant funding into our business as we rebuild the brand and accelerate the growth of this company," French said. "By combining the strength of our dynamic packaging technology and holiday know-how with the flight inventory, performance marketing and technical strength of eSky’s team, we are confident we will create a formidable European travel business."
The original Thomas Cook tour operator, which was listed in the United Kingdom and Germany, collapsed in 2019. At the time the company needed a £200 million bailout to survive. The company had secured £900 million investment earlier in 2019.
The company blamed its demise on tension in Tunisia and Turkey, unease around Brexit and unseasonably warm weather in Northern Europe, which led to consumers taking domestic breaks in 2017.