A government owned investment company of Dubai is expected to buy the Indian unit of Thomas Cook, Europe’s second-biggest travel company, for $127 million, a media report said today.According to the report, Dubai Investment Group is likely to pay $92 million for a 60 per cent stake in Thomas Cook India. It will also pay another $35 million for a 20 per cent stake as required under the Indian takeover laws, the Gulf News reported.Thomas Cook is jointly owned by airline Deutsche Lufthansa and ailing German retailer Karstadtquelle. The German retail firm has been aiming to sell its Indian and some other units for some time as part of a plan to return to profit but had set no deadline for it. Dubai investment did not confirm the report of the deal when contacted by the newspaper. Calls to Thomas Cook in India were not answered, the report said.EEB adds: Dubai Investment Group is the company that manages the private funds of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the Minister of Defense for the UAE. The company was originally called The Investment Office and changed its name in May 2005.The company invests mainly invests in international stocks, buying a 2 per cent stake in DaimlerChryslerAG in January 2005. The company has begun to diversify into property, buying $1 billion of rental property in the American South East during March 2005.
