Holidaybreak Confirms Possible Offer

The British specialist travel company's shares were up 12 per cent at 412 pence, making it the second biggest gainer on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday, after Holidaybreak confirmed it was in discussions with tour operator Cox & Kings Ltd regarding a possible offer.

The company said the discussions may or may not lead to a cash offer of 432.1 pence per ordinary share, which is at a premium of 18 per cent to the stock's Monday close.

"We view the offer price of 432.1p as broadly adequate...the main prize for any bidder is the education division," analyst Sahill Shan at Brewin Dolphin said.

The company, which provides residential outdoor education and adventure trips for school children, is valued at 225.24 million pounds based on its Monday's close.

Holidaybreak had on Monday revealed it was in takeover talks with third parties.

Cox & Kings Ltd, the parent of UK-based unlisted Cox and Kings, had allocated liquid funds of over 10 billion rupees in January for acquisitions in the U.S. and Europe.

The tour operator gets over half its overall revenues from its international operations and is looking at more overseas buys to drive future earnings and growth.

(Reuters)