Fairbridge Capital acquires Thomas Cook India for $150m

Thomas Cook's 77% in the unit will now be transferred to Fairbridge, which paid the equivalent of INR50 per share - an 11% premium to the trading price before the auction for the asset was announced in February. The transaction is intended to bring down the parent company's GBP890 million ($1.4 billion) debt pile.

Prospective buyers - which included private equity firms KKR, Actis, The Carlyle Group, Everstone Capital, TA Associates and Bravia Capital - first approached Thomas Cook about the sale in January. Tata Capital and British foreign exchange company Travelex are also thought to have made bids, while interest was expressed by Muthoot Finance, China's HNA Group, Bain Capital and Cox & Kings, one of the world's longest established travel companies.

Listed on the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges, Thomas Cook India provides foreign exchange, outbound and inbound leisure travel, corporate travel and insurance products. It is India's largest integrated foreign exchange and travel services business.

As of last December, the company had gross assets of INR9.3 billion and net assets of INR3.9 billion. It generated an EBITDA of INR562 million in 2011, making it one of the most profitable units within the Thomas Cook group.

Credit Suisse assisted in the sale, while Trilegal was the mandated legal adviser.

In 2005, Thomas Cook sold its Indian arm to Dubai Investment Group, yet it bought it back in 2008. This is now its second exit.

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• Topics
• Consumer
• South Asia
• Buyouts
• India
• buyout
• Consumer
• Everstone Capital
• KKR
• Actis Capital
• The Carlyle Group
• TA Associates
• Bravia Capital
• Tata Capital
• Bain Capital Asia