The Fairfax’s Thomas Cook India Ltd (TCIL) on Tuesday announced that it has signed an agreement with Thomas Cook United Kingdom (TCUK) to acquire the rights to the Thomas Cook brand in India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius for a one-time payment of approximately INR 13.9 crore.
Thomas Cook India has operated the Thomas Cook brand name uninterrupted in India since 1881. In 2012 when Thomas Cook India was acquired by Fairfax Financial Holdings of Canada, TCIL has entered into a Brand Licence Agreement with TCUK for exclusive use of the brand name until 2024 across India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. The brand licence agreement also gave the Indian branch the right of first refusals to acquire the brand in the event of the TCUK going into liquidation before 2024.
Thomas Cook India “truly knew it was an opportunity that they had to grab”.
TCIL’s acquisition of the exclusive ownership of the TCUK brand in these markets means that TCIL can now use the iconic travel services brand name that they have operated for 138 years in India. Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director, TCIL, expressed his happiness by stating:
“I am delighted that we have been able to sign an agreement to acquire the rights to the iconic Thomas Cook brand across India, Mauritius & Sri Lanka. So when this very attractive investment opportunity of complete ownership of the brand name across these markets, for a one-time payment of INR 139 million came up, it truly was an opportunity we had to grab!”.
With the agreement ensuring the brands use rights in perpetuity on a royalty-free basis, this move by TCIL will also prevent possible new entrants into these markets, using the brand name. Similarly in addition to TCUK, the TCIL Group also operates many leading B2C and B2B travel brands including SOCT, TCI, SITA, Asian Trails, Allied T Pro (ATP), Australian Tours Management (ATM), Desert Adventures, Luxe Asia, Kuoni Hong Kong, TC Travel, Private Safaris East & South Africa, Sterling Holidays and Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI), with strategic investments in Ithaka.
