Deadline set for Thomas Cook Airlines bids
May 7 has been set as the deadline for bids for Thomas Cook’s airline, according to reports in the financial press.
Thomas Cook put its airline business up for sale in February after two profit warnings.
A source ‘familiar with the discussions’ told Reuters that the most interested parties were Lufthansa Group and private equity firm, Indigo Partners, which already has a controlling interest in US low-cost airline Frontier Airlines and Chilean low-cost start-up JetSmart and an interest in Wizz Air.
But the source said British Airways parent IAG should not be ruled out and easyJet has ‘engaged in talks but is seen as less interested’.
According to Reuters, another source said private equity groups KKR and Apollo might also look at taking over the whole of Thomas Cook.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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