Venture capital firm Triton has initiated talks to buy the collapsed charter giant Thomas Cook's Nordic operations, which include Sweden's Ving, according to information provided to Sky News.
However, according to information provided to Di, the timeframes of the bank Carnegie, which was hired by the seller, are very tight, which could hinder a deal.
According to Sky News sources, Triton hopes the deal can be completed within a few days, although no formal agreement has yet been signed.
However, a forced process seems to be able to overturn the purchase.
”"Carnegie is driving the process and has set very tight timeframes. They want bids and decisions by Tuesday or Wednesday, but the framework of the process makes Triton's options impossible," a source with insight into the process tells Di.
Triton already owns the competing company Sunweb and is in the process of acquiring the Dutch Corendon. The hope is to complete the purchase before the end of the year, Triton's communications manager Fredrik Hazén tells Di, without wanting to comment on any intentions to buy the Thomas Cook company.
”"We have been following the company for a long time and participated in attempts to buy it in May. We have no comments on the current process," he says.
As early as May this year, Triton held talks with Thomas Cook about possibly acquiring the Nordic subsidiaries, something Thomas Cook confirmed at the time.
In addition to Ving, Thomas Cook's Nordic operations also include the tour operators Globetrotter, Spies, Tjäreborg, the airline Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and the hotel company Hotels & Resorts in Thomas Cook Northern Europe. Last year, the Scandinavian part of Thomas Cook reported an operating profit of 95 million pounds, equivalent to 1.2 billion kronor.
Nor does Thomas Cook Northern Europe's Swedish press manager Fredrik Henriksson want to comment on any interested parties or how the sales process is going, beyond what he confirmed to TT on Friday that an indicative bid had been received from an unnamed speculator, and that Carnegie has been hired to find buyers.
He also says that the pattern from early October is continuing: travelers seem unconcerned about the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, and the booking level that a week ago was at "almost the same level" as last year has now approached last year's level even further; the loss from the day of the bankruptcy when people withdrew from booking trips has thus largely been recovered, he says.
In the most recent financial year, 2018, Thomas Cook Northern Europe had a record turnover of SEK 12 billion and operating profit of SEK 367 million. Net profit was almost SEK 600 million thanks to capital gains from the sale of shares in group companies (something the annual report does not specify).
On September 23, in connection with the Thomas Cook bankruptcy, Di reported, based on the latest annual report for Thomas Cook Northern Europe, that the Nordic company has a guarantee commitment towards the parent company. The significance of this for a possible buyout deal was left uncommented by Thomas Cook's Fredrik Henriksson.
Source: di.se
