Polish online travel platform eSky has bought U.K. household name Thomas Cook for an undisclosed sum.
Thomas Cook is the world’s oldest travel agency brand.
In a statement on its website, eSky said it intended to “support the British brand in its further development and use its experience to strengthen its position in Britain and Western Europe.”
“We are taking over the rights to a very recognizable brand—especially on the British market, but also in the whole of Western Europe," one of eSky’s founders told the Puls Biznesu business daily, adding that Thomas Cook has a huge client base and generates £150 million (€178 million) a year in revenue.
The Financial Times reported Thomas Cook as saying the deal would provide it with “access to eSky’s superior flight inventory and will support its continued growth.”
Thomas Cook was launched in 1841 offering the world’s first package tours and has since grown to become one of the world’s biggest travel operators.
It fell into insolvency in 2019 after failing to negotiate a £1.1billion (€1.3 billion) rescue package and was acquired later that year by China’s Forsun, which paid £11mn (€13 million) for its brand and intellectual property rights.
Fosun said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that “the online travel agency business in the United Kingdom... does not align with the core competencies and strategic focus of the group,” The Financial Times reported.
Polish platform eSky was launched in 2004 as an innovative booking service. It now operates in 50 countries across Europe, North and South America, and Africa.
In 2008, it created the region’s first airfare comparison engine, and in 2016 became one of the first companies in the sector to offer a mobile app. In 2022, it entered the ‘dynamic packaging’ segment enabling consumers to build their own package of flights, accommodation, and car rental.
In a statement on its website, eSky said it intended to “support the British brand in its further development and use its experience to strengthen its position in Britain and Western Europe.”
“We are taking over the rights to a very recognizable brand—especially on the British market, but also in the whole of Western Europe," one of eSky’s founders told the Puls Biznesu business daily, adding that Thomas Cook has a huge client base and generates £150 million (€178 million) a year in revenue.
The Financial Times reported Thomas Cook as saying the deal would provide it with “access to eSky’s superior flight inventory and will support its continued growth.”
Thomas Cook was launched in 1841 offering the world’s first package tours and has since grown to become one of the world’s biggest travel operators.
It fell into insolvency in 2019 after failing to negotiate a £1.1billion (€1.3 billion) rescue package and was acquired later that year by China’s Forsun, which paid £11mn (€13 million) for its brand and intellectual property rights.
Fosun said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that “the online travel agency business in the United Kingdom... does not align with the core competencies and strategic focus of the group,” The Financial Times reported.
Polish platform eSky was launched in 2004 as an innovative booking service. It now operates in 50 countries across Europe, North and South America, and Africa.
In 2008, it created the region’s first airfare comparison engine, and in 2016 became one of the first companies in the sector to offer a mobile app. In 2022, it entered the ‘dynamic packaging’ segment enabling consumers to build their own package of flights, accommodation, and car rental.
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