Continued from page 62
£750 million takeover by Fosun and its banks, which needs to be sealed by September. Cook’s creditors would take
control of its airline, along with a minority stake in the tour operator business, in a debt-for- equity swap. Fosun would acquire
control of the travel group but take a minority holding in the airline. Te deal would mean a separation of the business but avoid it being broken up. Tomas Cook’s share
price rose following Kockar’s purchase although the increase was nominal, leading at least one analyst to suggest it made no sense as the shares’ value would be wiped out by the Fosun takeover. However, Kockar won’t
see the stake as a financial investment. His interests in Turkey and Russia are what drive it.
Tomas Cook is the biggest
operator to Turkey and has significant interests in Russia. It co-owns Russian inbound operator Intourist and took co-ownership of Russia’s leading tour operator Biblio Globus in May. In its half-year results in May,
Cook noted: “We have secured a leading position in the Russian market.” Kockar will hope to partner
Fosun and the restructured Cook and protect his investments in Turkey and Russia. In previous acquisitions, Fosun has partnered investors to spread the risk and extend its business – including a Brazilian investor in its takeover of Club Med in 2015, for example. Te Anex Tourism boss may already be in talks with Fosun and Tomas Cook.
IAG to ‘vigorously’ fight BA’s £183m data fine
Ian Taylor
International Airlines Group (IAG) confirmed it will contest a record fine imposed on British Airways by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a major data breach last year. Hackers stole the data of half a
million or more BA customers in the breach, disclosed last September. Te ICO issued notice of its
intention to fine BA £183 million for the breach in early July. Announcing the group’s half-year
results to June last week, IAG gave notice “it is British Airways’ intention to vigorously defend itself, including using all available appeal routes”. In a statement, IAG suggested
a failure to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK Data Protection Act “has not been proven”. IAG reported a 7.9% increase in group revenues year on year to
Amadeus reports 2% bookings rise in western Europe
Amadeus reported a near 2% rise in travel agency airline bookings in western Europe in the first half of the year. Te travel technology group
posted a 14% rise in revenue to more than €2.8 billion for the six months to June, with an 11% increase in operating profit to almost €1.2 billion. Amadeus recorded a 4.7%
62 8 AUGUST 2019
€12 billion for the first six months of 2019, but saw pre-tax profits decline by 41% to €1 billion. Te group’s operating profit
for the six months to June was €1.09 billion, a decline of €145 million on last year. BA made a profit of €873 million, Iberia €109 million, Aer Lingus €78 million and Vueling €5 million in the half year.
Chief executive Willie Walsh said:
“We delivered a good performance despite fuel cost headwinds.” He forecast IAG’s operating profit for the year would be in line with 2018. Te ICO said it found “a
variety of [customer] information compromised by poor security arrangements” at BA when it issued the fine last month. It noted log-in, payment card, booking, name and address data was compromised from mid-June to September – with card numbers, expiry dates and three-digit CVV codes all hacked. At the time BA reported the
breach, the airline said the personal data of 380,000 customers had been swiped from its website and app. It subsequently revealed the credit card details of 185,000 additional customers had been stolen. IAG made clear that it would
Willie Walsh
appeal against any penalty confirmed by the ICO and contest it via tribunals right up to the Court of Appeal.
increase in distribution revenue to €1.64 billion in the first half of the year. Te company noted: “Our bookings in the first half of the year outperformed the industry.” Alongside the 2% increase
in bookings in western Europe, Amadeus recorded a 14% increase in North America. But there was a near 1% decline in the Middle East and Africa and 15% decline in Asia Pacific, largely due to Indian carrier Jet Airways ceasing flying. Amadeus last week announced
the appointment of Champa Magesh as head of its global retail travel agency team. Magesh took over as
Champa Magesh
executive vice-president of retail in travel channels and managing director for EMEA. She was previously senior vice-president for retail travel channels, Asia Pacific, and formerly UK and Ireland managing director.
travelweekly.co.uk
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