Tata Capital among five shortlisted bidders for Thomas Cook (India): report
02 Apr 2012
Debt-ridden travel services provider Thomas Cook Group Plc, which is selling its majority stake in its Indian unit Thomas Cook (India), has shortlisted five bidders, including Tata Capital, the financial services arm of the Tata Group, The Economic Times today reported citing sources.
Other shortlisted bidders include private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Carlyle Group, and UK-based travel company Travelex.
The list of initial bidders also included Chinese firm HNA, Hong Kong's Bravia Capital, US-based private equity firms TA Associates, UK-based Actis and Everstone Capital, earlier a part of Kishore Biyani's Future Capital Holdings.
The short-listed bidders have been given until the second week of April to submit better offers and the highest bidder will be an exclusivity period of 4-6 weeks to conduct due diligence on the company, said the paper.
The eventual winner will get to use the Thomas Cook brand name for at least seven years.
Tata Capital is likely to have expressed interest for the forex business of Thomas Cook India, which contributes to 65 per cent of the company's revenues, estimated at Rs374 crore.
