Thomas Cook, perhaps the most famous name in travel, is to become 100% owned by the German store group KarstadtQuelle following an agreement with its previous equal partner Lufthansa. The agreed purchase price is ”800m. At the same time Lufthansa raises its stake in the charter airline Condor from the present 10% to 24.9% and receives the shares held by Condor in the Turkish holiday carrier Sun Express. Whilst officially announced the accord still requires the approval of the Supervisory Boards of Lufthansa and KarstadtQuelle and endorsement by the regulatory authorities. The transactions are scheduled to be finalised in the first quarter 2007.
"This decision is in continuation of our strategy of focusing on core business, consistently trimming the portfolio to concentrate on our core competencies and creating added value for our company," said Lufthansa chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber. "The new structure furnishes Thomas Cook and KarstadtQuelle with optimum opportunities to develop in the tour operator business."
In his statement Mayrhuber hinted on forthcoming structural changes and consolidation but did not give details.
"We intend to invest only in our core business. Our shareholders and staff will profit from a stronger positioned Lufthansa as will our customers."
The chairman emphasised that Lufthansa and Condor will continue their close cooperation in future. "We are underlining that partnership by raising our stake to 24.9% which will be held direct by Lufthansa, also in future. We want to help actively shape Condor”s development."
"Sun Express has established a leading position as a holiday carrier operating flights to Turkey," Wolfgang Mayrhuber observed. Interestingly Turkish Airlines, whom Lufthansa recently sponsored as a Star Alliance member, is a stakeholder in Sun Express, whilst the German government seems to have taken an anti-Turkish attitude towards that country”s admission to the EU.