Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., India’s leading integrated travel and travel related financial services company, today announced it has signed an agreement with AlixPartners, Thomas Cook UK’s appointed Special Managers, to acquire the rights to the Thomas Cook brand in India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius for a one-time payment of GBP 1.5 Million (approximately Rs. 139 Million).
TCIL was previously contracted to pay an annual brand licence fee of Rs. 20 Million to TCUK until 2024 for usage of the brand.
Thomas Cook (India) Limited has operated the Thomas Cook brand name uninterrupted in India since 1881. In 2012 when TCIL was acquired by Fairfax Financial Holdings of Canada, TCIL had entered into a Brand Licence Agreement with Thomas Cook Group UK for exclusive use of the brand name until 2024 across India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. The brand license agreement also gave TCIL the right of first refusal to acquire the brand in the event of the Thomas Cook UK Group going into liquidation before 2024.
The Thomas Cook India Group continues to remain financially strong with cash and bank deposits balances of Rs. 10,883 Mn. as of September 30, 2019. On a standalone basis Thomas Cook India is debt free. The Group generates an average annual free cash flow of around Rs. 2,000 Mn.
Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, said, “I am delighted that we have been able to sign an agreement to acquire the rights to the iconic Thomas Cook brand across India, Mauritius & Sri Lanka. The brand is one of the most respected names in the travel services space and one that we at Thomas Cook India have operated uninterrupted for 138 years since 1881.
In 2012 when TCIL were acquired by Fairfax Financial Holdings of Canada, we had entered into a Brand Licence Agreement with the erstwhile Thomas Cook Group of the UK to give us exclusive use of the brand until 2024 across India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius for an annual licence fee of Rs. 20 Mn. So when this very attractive investment opportunity of complete ownership of the brand name across these markets, for a onetime payment of Rs. 139 Million came up, it truly was an opportunity we had to grab!
Our teams now look forward to continue to build on the glorious heritage of Thomas Cook across India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius – to grow sustainable value for all our stakeholders in the years ahead.”
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