STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN - Norwegian property tycoon Petter Stordalen and private equity firms Altor and TDR Capital [TDRCSD.UL] have agreed to buy the Nordic business of collapsed British travel company Thomas Cook.
The buyers said in a joint statement they had agreed a financial reconstruction package for the business that would provide about 6 billion Swedish crowns in liquid funds and guarantees. Ving Group, which employs about 2,300 people, owns Nordic travel agencies Ving, Globetrotter, Spies, Tjareborg, carrier Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and a number of hotel brands.
Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel firm, went bankrupt when it couldn’t service its debts and banks would not back a rescue plan in the face of changing customer habits and intense competition from low-cost airlines and online-only rivals.