Cox & Kings to buy U.K.'s Holidaybreak

Travel services provider Cox & Kings on Wednesday said it would acquire U.K.-based Holidaybreak for an estimated 312 million pound (around Rs.2,250 crore).

The latest announcement comes less than a week after Cox & Kings said it acquired a minority stake in the U.S. travel firm Radius for an undisclosed amount.

The boards of Cox & Kings and Holidaybreak have approved the transaction, which is expected to be completed by the end of September, the two firms said in separate statements. Holidaybreak, which has interests in travel services, including education activity trips for children.

The acquisition would be done through Cox & Kings' wholly-owned subsidiary Prometheon Holdings for 312 million pound (around Rs.2,250 crore), Holidaybreak said.

“The acquisition of Holidaybreak marks an exciting new step for Cox & Kings in its development. We have been growing rapidly and have also significantly expanded our outbound tours operation from India and Oceania,” Cox & Kings Director Peter Kerkar said.

Cox & Kings has presence in many overseas markets including the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the U.S. and Germany.

Holidaybreak added new product areas and markets, which provided attractive opportunities to leverage Cox and Kings' global network, Mr. Kerkar said.

Recently, Cox & Kings got approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for infusing Rs.750 crore FDI into the company.

Shares of Cox & Kings closed at Rs.192.95, down 2.38 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The acquisition would be effected through equity and debt, company Director Peter Kerkar told reporters in Mumbai. He added that 125 million pound would be raised through equity and the balance from debt from Axis Bank.

“This is the largest such acquisition of an Indian company in this space and is the ninth one for Cox & Kings,” Mr. Kerkar said.