Dentons has advised the eSky Group, the owner of a leading travel platform in CEE, backed by private equity house MCI Capital, on its acquisition of Thomas Cook Tourism (UK) Company Limited from Fosun Tourism Group. The transaction represents an acquisition of the business built by Fosun from the assets acquired following the collapse of the legacy Thomas Cook business in 2019. eSky plans to use the acquisition to develop the Thomas Cook brand and grow market share within the UK and other European jurisdictions.

The eSky Group uses advanced technology to enable travellers to purchase airline tickets, book accommodation, rent cars and purchase travel insurance. The group sells products in over 50 countries worldwide and is a market leader in the CEE region and a leading player in South America. MCI Capital took a 55 percent stake in the eSky Group in 2022. MCI Capital is a leading private equity fund focused on technology investments in central and eastern Europe. It currently has nearly €700 million of capital under management.

Dentons has advised eSky on a number of transactions, including the investment from MCI in February 2022.

Lukasz Habaj, co-founder and CEO at eSky Group commented: “We are excited about this acquisition, which enables us to expand the Thomas Cook brand across the UK and Europe as well as transform our business from a flight platform into a VTO. We are grateful to Dentons’ expert teams in London, Warsaw, and Amsterdam, who provided invaluable support, particularly in Data and IP, ensuring a smooth and successful process.”

Nicholas Plant, Private Equity partner at Dentons commented: “We are delighted to have acted for eSky on this high-profile transaction. Thomas Cook is such a well-known brand in the UK, and it will be great to see more of it.”

The multi-practice Dentons team advising eSky Group on the transaction was led by Nicholas Plant in our London office and Michał Wasiak in our Warsaw office with support from a team including Corporate associate Alex Macdonald, IP Senior Associate Sam Caunt, Tax associate Ivan Jelocnik, Employment Senior Associate Aggie Salt and Data Protection associate Argy Kemerlis. Dutch support was provided by a team led by Corporate partner Kuif Klein Wassink.