Beijing: China's Fosun Group is considering nearly a billion dollar rescue of embattled British tour operator Thomas Cook, the Hong Kong-listed conglomerate confirmed.
The Chinese company said in a stock market announcement that there are "ongoing advanced discussions" about a capital injection which would see a debt-for-equity swap at the British travel agency, which has struggled with its debt pile.
The deal would equate to a 750 million pounds ($940 million) rescue of the London-based firm. Fosun Group is already a minority investor in Thomas Cook (TC) -- with a stake of around 18% -- and owns French luxury holiday resort group Club Med which it bought for more than $1 billion in 2015.
The plan, which is still subject to the shareholders approval, would involve Fosun's tourism group taking a controlling stake in tour operations and a minority share in TC’s airline arm.