Bookings for inbound travel in October decent: Thomas Cook

Here is a verbatim transcript of the exclusive interview with Madhavan Menon on CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: There is a lot of anticipation that because Arcandor had filed for bankruptcy and there is a change of management which might be happening globally that might warrant an open offer because of the management change for Thomas Cook India as well. Are you clear about the legal modalities of this?

A: A lot of the activity around Arcandor at this point of time is in the bankruptcy courts in Germany and there are decisions that will come out of that court and currently there is a fair amount of speculation on what is going to happen. But at this point of time it is too early to react because unless something happens in terms of the modalities around the placement, we would not know how it will trigger the laws in India.

Q: Can you tell us what the likely timeline is in order to see a final judgement or a final result and from what you are hearing right now, do the conversations indicate a cash transaction between the two parties, Arcandor and Thomas Cook?

A: At the moment there is little clarity on what is ultimately going to happen because it is a fairly large value of stock that needs to be placed. Obviously there are a variety of options that I am sure that the receivers are looking at but from my perspective there is no clarity at this point of time.

I think there are timelines being speculated but I have not been advised nor am I privy to any timelines and I am sure as and when we do have timelines we will get to know but I think it is premature - I don't know how premature but there is no clarity at this point of time.

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