Travel company Cox & Kings is looking for acquisitions in English speaking countries to expand its operations. The company is planning to raise Rs 1,500 crore through the foreign institutional investors (FII) route and has applied to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to seek its approval to raise funds.
FIPB, a key wing in the finance ministry to vet foreign investment proposals of companies, is will take up the Cox & Kings application in its next meeting on July 6.
According to a company official, the company wants to raise funds to provide liquidity and strengthen its monetary position. Merchant bankers will need to showcase the financial strength of the company at the time of any acquisition deal, he said.
“Indian-owned travel companies have not actively gone for acquisitions abroad, but with the outbound travel growing, it is a good strategy to have strong foreign operations. It will also help in sourcing inbound travel to India,” said P R Srinivas, leader, travel, hospitality and tourism, Deloitte India.
The company had earlier acquired Tempo Holidays Australia, ETN in the UK and Quoprro Global Services for visa processing. During financial year 2010, the company acquired East India Travel Company in North America, MyPlanet Australia and Bentours International in Australia for specialised outbound tours. In February, C&K commenced its operations by opening up a branch in Taiwan. Other travel companies such as Thomas Cook, MakeMyTrip also have global operations.
The company also started to provide comprehensive processing services to diplomatic missions across the world through its 100 per cent subsidiary Cox&Kings global services this year.