Thomas Cook India Group has obtained board approval to divest 5.42 per cent stake in its subsidiary Quess Corp, to bring its shareholding to 51.56 per cent, thereby proposing to raise funds of over Rs 600 crore through an offer for sale (OFS) process as prescribed by SEBI. The floor price of Rs 800 per share for this price discovery process is the same as that of the August 2017 IPP of Quess Corp.
This is in keeping with SEBI regulations that require promoters to bring down their stake to 75 per cent and post dilution, the promoter shareholding in Quess Corp (that of Thomas Cook India and Ajit Isaac, CMD and CEO, Quess Corp.) would be 75.38 per cent.
Fairfax Financial Holdings, through the Thomas Cook India Group, is committed to maintaining a controlling stake in Quess Corp. The initiative is also aimed at retiring Thomas Cook India’s long term debt, thus bringing down the company’s financial costs and improving profitability and liquidity at both a standalone and group level.
Madhavan Menon, chairman and managing director, Thomas Cook India Group, said, “At the Thomas Cook India Group, we are committed to holding a controlling stake in our subsidiary Quess Corp. Our proposed dilution of a portion of our stake in Quess Corp is hence intended to comply with SEBI regulations. Our aim is to retire our long term debt and improve profitability; simultaneously increase our cash reserves, enabling us to effectively leverage opportune investments as and when they arise.”