Kuoni reveals sale of Euro tour operations

The Zurich-based firm, in the midst of extensive restructuring, said on Monday that it had agreed to sell its tour operating business, as well as its travel agencies in Switzerland, Britain, Scandinavia, Finland and the Benelux countries to REWE's travel arm DER Touristik.
   
The deal also includes Kuoni's online sales business and the Scandinavian charter airline Novair, as well as its Las Playitas resort in the Canaries, it said in a statement.
   
REWE plans to continue the businesses, which last year raked in about two billion francs ($2.2 billion) in sales, and will take onboard all of the nearly 2,350 employees affected, Kuoni said.
   
The deal is expected to be finalised during the third quarter pending a green light from European and Swiss competition authorities, it said.
   
The sell-off is part of large-scale restructuring Kuoni announced in January, when it said it aimed to offload the tour operating business it has focused on for more than a century, and concentrate instead on providing
services to the global travel industry and governments.
   
Kuoni said it expected to find a buyer for its tour operating businesses in India, China and Hong Kong by the end of the year.