Thomas Cook India Group has bought out Kuoni Group, which owns a chain of tour firms across 17 countries, trading as Private Safaris in African markets.
Thomas Cook India is yet to disclose the value of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals.
Private Safaris arranges tours to eastern and Southern Africa destinations. It has about 200 workers and handles more than 50,000 guests annually.
Travel giant Thomas Cook India Group has acquired Nairobi-based safari operator Private Safaris in a deal that gives the Mumbai-based firm a toehold in the eastern and southern Africa markets.
The travel company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange has bought out Kuoni Group, which owns a chain of tour firms across 17 countries, trading as Private Safaris in African markets.
Thomas Cook India declined to disclose the value of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals.
Private Safaris was founded in Nairobi in 1976 and has grown over the years with offices in Arusha, Cape Town and Windhoek. Its key tourist source market are Switzerland, other European countries, Asia, and North America.
Thomas Cook India group chairman and managing director Madhavan Menon, said the deal will help expand the firm’s footprint and tap into the growing number of business and leisure travellers to new markets beyond India.
“It provides us a significant expanded global footprint with enhanced presence in the Americas, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia—all favoured destinations for tourists and business travellers worldwide,” said Mr Menon.
“The multinational acquisition creates a strong global network that will transform the Thomas Cook India Group into a globally integrated travel services provider with the ability to leverage inherent synergies across its global travel portfolio.”
Private Safaris arranges tours to eastern and Southern Africa destinations. It has about 200 workers and handles more than 50,000 guests annually.
The operator offers packages such as sightseeing, city tours, camping, excursions, off-road adventure, airport transfers, conference support, and cruise ship handling.
Alexander Spiro, CEO in charge of East Africa at Private Safaris, said the deal will allow the marketing of Kenya as a tourist destination to a global market.
“We will continue to contribute to the Kenyan tourism industry through marketing, our magical destination called Kenya, increase workforce again, and creating strong value,” said Mr Spiro in a statement.
Kuoni trades under the AlliedTPro brand in the US, Asian Trails in South-East Asia, Australian Tours Management (Australia), and Desert Adventures/Gulf Dunes (Middle East).
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