Thomas Cook, once a famous name in English mass-market tourism, is close to being sold by its Chinese owner to a Polish online travel agent eSky.
Fosun Tourism Group, the current owner of Thomas Cook, is in advanced negotiations with eSky, which is majority-owned by MCI Capital.
The talks have been ongoing for some time and a deal could be reached in the coming weeks, although there is a possibility that the discussions may not lead to an agreement.
If the sale is completed, it will be the second change of ownership for Thomas Cook since its collapse in 2019, which left many people unemployed and stranded abroad.
Fosun acquired the brand for just £11m, and subsequently relaunched Thomas Cook as an online travel agent.
Thomas Cook opened the first travel agency in Dublin in 1874, as a result of a pilgrimage organised to Paray-le-Monial in 1873, associated with St Margaret Mary Alcoque and devotion to the Sacred Heart. It closed amid some acrimony in 2014, during which it became clear that Thomas Cook management did not know that Ireland was a separate jurisdiction and subject to English industrial relations law.
