Stockholm (dpa) - The Nordic operations of collapsed British travel group Thomas Cook announced new owners on Wednesday, including a Norwegian hotel magnate and two venture capital groups.
"I have made many deals in my life, but this is special. This deal combines heart and mind," investor Petter Stordalen, one of Norway's wealthiest men, told a news conference in Stockholm.
Stordalen's Strawberry Group has along with venture capital groups Altor based in Sweden and London-based TDR Capital bought the Thomas Cook Group subsidiary Ving in Norway and Sweden as well as Scandinavian subsidiaries Tjaereborg, Globetrotter and Spies.
Strawberry Group and Altor were each to have a 40-per-cent stake, TDR Capital the remaining 20 per cent.
The British parent group Thomas Cook collapsed in September.
"It was really important to find an owner who has the strategic competence and the financial strength to become a long-term owner," said Magnus Wikner, chief executive of Thomas Cook Northern Europe, as the Nordic operations were known.
Wednesday's deal also comprised the charter carrier Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, which will be renamed Sunclass Airlines.
Ving said no bookings would be accepted on Wednesday when the change of ownership was due to take place.
Wikner noted that the group's market was the Nordic region and this would guide its business plan.
The Nordic subsidiaries have about 2,300 employees, and serve customers in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Stordalen's Strawberry Group owns Scandinavian hotel chain Nordic Choice Hotels with 16,000 employees, and has interests in real estate, finance and the arts.
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