Cook snaps up remainder of Gold Medal

Monday, 22 Dec, 2009 0

 

 
 
Thomas Cook is paying £47.5 million for the remaining half of operator Gold Medal it does not own.
 
The company paid almost £25 million for a 50.01% stake in the business in April from founder Ken Townsley.
 
It is now acquiring the remaining 49.99% shareholding and expects to make annual ‘synergy savings’ of £10 million from the integration of Gold Medal with other Thomas Cook scheduled businesses in the UK over time.
 
Gold Medal achieved pre-tax profit of £8.1 million on gross sales of £309.7 million in the year ending September 30 with further synergies still to be realised.
 
Thomson Cook group chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said: “Today’s agreement to acquire the remaining stake in Gold Medal underlines our commitment to further strengthening our position in the growing independent travel sector.
 
“Since we acquired a majority stake in the business almost a year ago, Gold Medal has traded exceptionally well, clearly demonstrating the strategic importance of having a strong presence in this market.
 
“We’re confident the business will continue its strong growth and to generate synergies within the Thomas Cook Group.”
 
The deal is structured so that Thomas Cook today acquires an additional 26.31% interest in Thomas Cook Investments Limited, the holding company of Gold Medal, for £25 million to be satisfied by way of a non-interest bearing loan note which is redeemable between April 2011 and October 2011.
 
The remaining 23.68% interest in TCI is expected to be acquired through the exercise of a series of call and put options between January 2010 and October 2010 for a further £22.5 million. 
 
by Phil Davies


 

profileimage

Phil Davies



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...