What now Thomas Cook?
Volker Bosse, analyst with UniCredit Group, in a note to investors, said a potential merger for Arcandor would only solve part of the company’s problems. “The operating trend of the remaining business is still poor. Thomas Cook stated that the year-to-date prebookings for summer 2009 are down by a double-digit percentage year-on-year.” In London, shares of Thomas Cook were trading nearly 7% higher at 2.34 pounds. In a statement, the company said: “Today’s announcement will have no impact on customers and is not expected to result in any adverse effect on any of the contractual arrangements of the Thomas Cook group. “Thomas Cook’s financing arrangements are completely independent from Arcandor’s financing and are not affected by today’s development,” it said. The company added that it has not had any approaches by any other companies in relation to buying Arcandor’s stakeholding. German retailer Rewe Zentrale AG said Tuesday it wants to strengthen its position in the tourism segment and
