Kakkar acquired Mercury Travels to partner EIH in managing the EIH’s in-house travel house with interests in forex, travel and so on.
MUMBAI: A couple of years ago, PRS Oberoi, chairman of EIH Hotels, offered Ashwini Kakkar, then managing director with Thomas Cook 25% of Mercury Travels on a platter.
Biki Oberoi’s only brief to Kakkar then was to expand the wholly owned 60-year-old subsidiary. He was prepared to give the shares free of cost in return for Kakkar’s expertise. Kakkar had then declined.
“I wanted to have control to do something,” Kakkar recounted to DNA Money on Monday. Times have clearly changed since then.
On Monday, he acquired 75.9% of Mercury Travels to partner EIH Ltd in managing the EIH’s in-house travel house with interests in forex, travel etc.
After Thomas Cook India was acquired by a Dubai based financial investor early some months ago, Kakkar had resigned as the managing director of the company. There was a talk then that Kakkar was among the unsuccessful bidders for the Indian operations.
In his fifties, Kakkar is embarking for the first time to become a entrepreneur. From seventh in the travel house rankings, he wants to propel Mercury in three years to the number 3 position.
Why is EIH and its promoters diluting their stake in Mercury?
“They have too much on their plate. The Oberois have planned a major expansion worth Rs 1,250 crore of their main hotel business. Secondly, EIH does not have the management bandwidth to run a travel house, as their expertise clearly lies in hotel management,” Kakkar says.
PRS Oberoi, chairman of Mercury Travels said, “Mercury’s legacy in delivering high end service to its customers places it in a unique position to excel in the dynamic Indian travel environment. To take the company to the next level, we are delighted to partner Ashwini Kakkar.” As the President of the Travel Association of India (TAAI), Chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and a global director of United Federation of Travel Agents Associations (UFTAA), Kakkar has plenty of experience and vision to run the business. Mercury Travels has a lot of sentimental attachment for P R S Oberoi. It was a travel house started by his father Rai Bahadur.
“We are going to relaunch the 60-year-old brand and launch outbound holidays in a big way,” Kakkar said.
Thomas Cook and Kuoni are big players in that space and both are foreign owned. Kakkar will be the new executive vice chairman, while P R S Oberoi will continue to be the chairman of Mercury Travels. Mercury is one of the premier travel companies in the country, serves mainly the middle and higher segments of travel and travel related business. The company operates in travel related services which includes business travel, inbound, outbound and domestic holidays foreign exchange, travel insurance meet and incentives. The company, which is a subsidiary of the Oberoi Group of Hotels, was established in 1948. It has around 200 employees working at 15 offices in India and a marketing office located in Frankfurt. Kakkar was the erstwhile managing director of Thomas Cook India Ltd and a director of Worldwide Board of Thomas Cook.
On the development, Kakkar said, “We can make Mercury Travels an industry leader in next few years. Moreover, a high standard of ethics and integrity, strong focus on quality offerings to customers, has prompted to acquire the stake in the company.”
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