Poland's eSky Acquires Thomas Cook, the World's Oldest Travel Brand
Polish travel group eSky has reached an agreement to acquire Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel brand, from its current Chinese owner, Fosun, for an estimated £30 million (152 million zloty, €35.6 million).
The acquisition aims to bolster eSky’s presence in Western Europe and diversify its product offerings. eSky operates a travel platform that compares airline and hotel prices.
Founded in the UK in 1841, Thomas Cook went bankrupt in 2019 due to an unmanageable debt of £1.1 billion. Its collapse caused widespread disruption in the travel industry, leading to the UK's largest peacetime repatriation effort, as the government organized the return of over 150,000 stranded holidaymakers.
Fosun acquired the Thomas Cook brand later that year for £11 million. Other assets, such as its physical sales network and regional companies, were sold to various investors. Polish airline LOT had also been set to purchase Condor, Germany’s largest charter airline and a former part of Thomas Cook, but withdrew from the deal following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.