Thomas Cook edges higher, Quess drops 6% on stake sale approval

NEW DELHI: Shares of Thomas Cook ended higher, while those of subsidiary Quess Corp slumped over 6 per cent on Thursday after the parent company obtained board approval to divest a 5.42 per cent stake in the arm to bring down its shareholding in the firm to 51.56 per cent.

The company has proposed raising Rs 600 crore funds through an Offer for Sale (OFS) process as prescribed by Sebi.

Thomas Cook said 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. Shares of Quess Corp fell 6.56 per cent to close at Rs 857.05. The floor price was at 12.40 per cent discount to Wednesday's closing of Rs 913.25 for the stock. Shares of Thomas Cook, meanwhile ended 0.28 per cent higher at Rs 230.55.

Travel and travel related financial services company said that Fairfax Financial Holdings, through the Thomas Cook India Group is committed to maintaining a controlling stake in Quess Corp.

"At the Thomas Cook India Group we are committed to holding a controlling stake in our subsidiary Quess Corp. 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," said Madhavan Menon, chairman and managing director, Thomas Cook India Group told ET.