MyTravel und Thomas Cook wollen fusionieren

[MD-80.net]

"Reuters" meldet, dass MyTravel und Thomas Cook fusionieren wollen.

"LONDON (Reuters) - British package holiday company MyTravel (MT.L: Quote, Profile , Research) and Thomas Cook, its Germany-based rival, are in advanced talks about a merger of equals, with a deal likely as early as Monday, the Financial Times reported.

The two firms were working on the final details, the newspaper said on its Web site, without citing sources.

The structure of the deal remained unclear but shareholders of MyTravel -- a 1.1 billion pound company -- would receive shares in the combined group, according to the FT.

A comment was not immediately available from MyTravel or Thomas Cook, owned by German retailer KarstadtQuelle (KARG.DE: Quote, Profile , Research).

The FT said a merger would have a big impact on the auction of First Choice's (FCD.L: Quote, Profile , Research) package holiday business.

The British competitor is in talks with a number of parties, including MyTravel and Thomas Cook, over the possible sale of the business.

KarstadtQuelle agreed to buy the 50 percent of Thomas Cook it did not own from Deutsche Lufthansa (LHAG.DE: Quote, Profile , Research) in December for 800 million euros (534 million pounds)."

Courtesy: Reuters