Thomas Cook completes sale of Indian operations to Prem Watsa’s Fairbridge Capital

Thomas Cook Plc, Europe's largest tour operator and UK's second-largest foreign exchange group, today said it has completed the sale of its majority stake in its India operations to Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius) Ltd, a subsidiary of Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.

The embattled London-based travel agency said the deal was approved with 99.99 per cent votes by shareholders at a general meeting on 9 August.

Speaking on the announcement, Madhavan Menon, managing director, Thomas Cook (India) said, ''Thomas Cook India and Fairbridge Capital share similar values and beliefs and we are confident that the new ownership will build on the powerful growth momentum we have exhibited over the years.''

''Our focus would be to continually develop our core businesses and add further breadth and depth to our product-service portfolio. The aggressive and focused expansion in our foreign exchange business, coupled with that of our leisure travel business, will continue unabated, offering unique symbiotic benefits to both, as also across the enterprise,'' he added.

Thomas Cook had, in February, announced plans to sell its 77 per cent stake in Thomas Cook (India) in order to bring down debt, estimated to be then around £900 million.

In May, Toronto, Ontartio-based Fairfax Financial, a property and casualty insurer run by Prem Watsa, agreed to buy debt-ridden travel services provider Thomas Cook's 77 per cent stake in its Indian operations for about Rs817.4 crore ($150 million). (See: Prem Watsa's Fairfax Financial to buy Thomas Cook India for Rs817.4 crore)