Global travel company Cox and Kings plans to acquire 'suitable players' in the Indian travel and tourism industry, a top official said on Friday.
"We plan to acquire a company as and when the right opportunity comes. This would give a strategic fit for Cox and Kings in India," Cox and Kings India's Director Peter Kerkar told reporters here.
The company has sought the Sebi approval to sell 87 lakh shares of Rs 10 each in the domestic market, diluting 23.48 per cent of the post issue paid-up capital.
The issue comprise a reservation of up to one lakh equity shares for the permanent eligible employees of the company.
Of the total issue, at least 60 per cent of the net issue is to be allocated on a proportionate basis to Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) out of which five per cent has been reserved for mutual funds.
Though Kelkar declined to divulge the size of the IPO, the company is understood to have plans to raise around Rs 520 crore from the share sale.
The company has also entered into a partnership with French wax museum, Grevin, for the promotion of tourism between the two countries.
The museum will unveil the wax statue of film star Shah Rukh Khan next month, Peter said.
Cox and Kings has also entered into a tie-up with Indian railways to build a luxury train which will travel from Mumbai and Rajasthan across to Varanasi and Kolkata.
The company has presence in seven countries. In India, the company has 13 offices and has a total headcount of nearly 800.
source| Economic Times
Friday, March 07, 2008