Cox & Kings has agreed to acquire Holidaybreak plc through its wholly own subsidiary Prometheon Holdings.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Holidaybreak shareholders will receive 432.1 pence in cash per share – valuing the company at £312 million.

The price reflects a premium of approximately 35.5 per cent on the closing price of Holidaybreak shares on July 22nd 2011.

Commenting on the deal, Peter Kerkar, director of Cox & Kings, said: “The acquisition of Holidaybreak marks an exciting new step for Cox & Kings in its development.

“We have been growing rapidly and have also significantly expanded our outbound tours operation from India and Oceania. Holidaybreak adds new product areas and markets which provide us with attractive opportunities to leverage Cox and Kings’ global network and accelerate the development of both Holidaybreak and Cox & Kings’ businesses.”

Holidaybreak operates under the PGL, Keycamp and Eurocamp brands in the UK.

It is expected the deal will be posted on August 10th 2011, with a deal expecting to close on September 27th, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory and all other conditions.

Commenting, Martin Davies, group chief executive of Holidaybreak, said: “I am proud of the significant progress we have made towards our objective of transforming Holidaybreak into an education focused business, both through expansion into the pan-European education market through the acquisition of Meininger, and by building on our high quality brands.

“While the Board of Holidaybreak was confident that significant value could have been generated for shareholders over time through implementation of our standalone strategy, today’s announcement of the recommended acquisition of Holidaybreak by Cox & Kings provides certainty and immediate value to shareholders, in cash and at a premium. 

“It also presents an exciting opportunity for Holidaybreak’s customers and employees to benefit from being part of an international travel company which shares our passion for delivering unique and valued products to our customers.”