Fosun Tourism Group has entered into an agreement with Thomas Cook Group PLC to acquire the brand, and the hotel brands Casa Cook and Cook’s Club for a total consideration of £11 million, as Fosun looks to expand its tourism business.
The assets include trademarks, domain names, software applications and licenses of the British travel firm and related hotel brands, Hong Kong-listed Fosun said, adding that it did not plan to buy overseas assets or businesses related to Thomas Cook for the time being.
Mr. Qian Jiannong, chairman of Fosun Tourism Group, said: “The Group has always believed in the brand value of Thomas Cook. The acquisition of the Thomas Cook brand will 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."
Fosun hopes that the introduction of new hotel brands will further enrich the offering of accommodation choices for tourism destinations business by the group, diversify its resort and hotel operations.
After the acquisition of certain Thomas Cook related brands, the overseas acquisition related to Thomas Cook will come to an end for the time being. Following the acquisition, the Group will focus on business expansion, using the newly acquired Thomas Cook brands to create synergies with the existing businesses of the Group.”