* Company in talks with government, investors
* Board meetings to be held this weekend
* Company needs to find $250 mln to fend off collapse
(Adds confirmation, background)
By Kate Holton
LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Britain's Thomas Cook is
in talks with the government and potential investors about a
last-minute rescue deal to fend off a corporate collapse that
would send shockwaves well beyond the travel sector.
The world's oldest travel company was fighting for its
survival over the weekend after its lenders threatened to pull
the plug on a rescue deal that has been months in the making.
Hurt by high levels of debt, online competition and
geopolitical uncertainty, Thomas Cook needs to find another 200
million pounds ($250 million) on top of a 900 million pound
package it had already agreed, to see it through the winter
months when it needs to pay hotels for their summer services.
A person familiar with the situation said the company was in
talks with the government and a number of potential investors
about bridging the funding gap. It will hold a board meeting on
Saturday and Sunday to evaluate its position.
"We have not given up," the person said, declining to be
named due to the sensitivity of the situation.
Were Thomas Cook to fail to find the funds it requires, it
could be put into administration, a form of creditor protection
that often precedes bankruptcy.
That would spark the largest peacetime repatriation in
British history with some 160,000 Britons currently enjoying
Thomas Cook holidays in destinations including California, the
Caribbean and Corfu.
In total, some 600,000 holidaymakers from markets including
Germany and Scandinavia could be stranded. The company's social
media channels are full of customers asking if they will be able
to get home.
The British government and airline regulator have already
drawn up plans in case they need to step in to bring customers
home. But the fallout from any collapse would go far beyond the
interrupted holidays of its customers.
Founded in 1841 with a local rail excursion in Britain,
Thomas Cook runs hotels and resorts, airlines, cruises and
hundreds of high street travel agent stores. With 21,000 staff,
it operates in 16 countries and serves 19 million customers a
year.
The company's demise could affect the economies of its big
holiday markets Spain, Greece and Turkey, its shareholders and
lending banks, and the landlords of its many British high street
stores.
Its largest shareholder is China's Fosun, which
was due to take a central role in the rescue package.
The Department for Transport and the company both declined
to comment.
($1 = 0.8014 pounds)
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; editing by Giles
Elgood)
