Canada’s Fairfax Financial wins auction for Thomas Cook India

Thomas Cook agreed yesterday morning to sell its entire 77% stake in its Indian unit to Fairbridge Capital, a subsidiary of Canada’s Fairfax Financial, for 95 million $150 million.

The price is equivalent to Rs50 a share, which represents a premium of 11% to the market price on February 7, when the auction became public. Would-be buyers had first approached Thomas Cook in January, with broad interest from both strategic acquirers and financial sponsors in India and overseas.

Bidders are reported to have included private equity funds Carlyle, KKR, TA Associates and Tata Capital, as well as Travelex, a British foreign exchange company.

...