Thomas Cook has confirmed the sale of its 77 per cent stake in Thomas Cook India following an auction.

Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius), a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings, will acquire the asset for £94 million. 

The agreed price is equivalent to INR 50 per share, which represents a premium of 11 per cent to the market price immediately prior to the announcement of the auction process.

The Thomas Cook Group will grant Fairbridge a licence over the Thomas Cook brand for 12.5 years in the countries in which TCIL currently operates.

The disposal is part of Thomas Cook’s previously announced plans to reduce debt and strengthen its financial position, which combined with the proposed sale and leaseback of certain aircraft and sale of HCV will also deliver substantial additional liquidity.

The net proceeds of the sale will be used to reduce the net debt of the Group.

Sam Weihagen, group chief executive said: “I am pleased to be able to announce this disposal, which is a further step in improving the Group’s financial position and demonstrates our on-going commitment to reducing debt and strengthening the balance sheet.

“I would like to thank the TCIL management team for the professionalism they have shown throughout this process. We wish them well under their new ownership.”