Germany-based tour operator Thomas Cook bought British company MyTravel, creating a company with an annual revenue of about $15.58 billion, an amount that rivals Europe's current biggest tour operator, TUI AG, Reuters reported on Monday. The deal is expected to be complete by June. Thomas Middlehoff, CEO of KarstadtQuelle, Thomas Cook's parent company, who also serves as chairman of Thomas Cook, will become chairman of the new company. MyTravel Chairman Michael Beckett will become deputy. Thomas Cook will control 52 percent of the new company, which will be called Thomas Cook Group, and MyTravel will hold 48 percent of the company's shares. Reuters elaborated that both companies expect to save $146.1 million one year after combining the two business.
