Cox and Kings to raise Rs. 2,000 crore, plans buyouts

Travel firm Cox and Kings (India) on Monday said it will raise Rs. 2,000 crore through a mix of equity and debt to fund its expansion plans, including acquisitions, and has sought shareholders’ approval.

Revealing this, Chief Financial Officer Anil Khandelwal told PTI his company was looking at multiple opportunities in the travel segment and there could be more than one buyout, for which it has appointed global M&A specialist Peter Diethelm as a strategic adviser.

“We have sought our shareholders’ approval to raise Rs. 1,000 crore equity and Rs. 1,000 crore debt to fund our future expansion, which also includes merger and acquisition plans,” Khandelwal said here.

The company has also informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it is in the process of receiving shareholders’ consent for raising the funds through a postal ballot.

The company is in the process of finalising the mode of raising the Rs. 1,000 crore of equity. “We are looking at all options, the mode will be decided soon,” he said.

On the Rs. 1,000 crore debt proposed to be raised, Khandelwal said, “The company is looking at the best and the cheapest mode.”

He said he is looking at a few travel companies, both domestic and overseas, for acquisition, but things were still at an initial stage.

The company is looking at multiple opportunities in the travel segment and there could be more than one acquisition.

“We want to be ready with resources whenever such an opportunity emerges,” he said.

Given its growing international presence and with an eye on the future, the company also proposes to change its name to Cox and Kings from Cox and Kings (India).

“Our company has grown internationally and almost half of our revenues now emanate from overseas markets. Hence, we thought it fit to change our name to one that fits in well in both the markets,” Khandelwal said.

The company, which deals with around 1 million customers annually, reported a 113 per cent growth in profit after tax to Rs. 133.84 crore in FY’10 against Rs. 62.81 crore in the previous year.