The cash-strapped Skylark Travel Service Co (天喜旅行社) said yesterday it would soon resume operations after obtaining fresh capital from Star Travel Corp (燦星旅遊), the nation’s second-largest online travel ticketing company.
The two companies are in talks over an alliance and did not rule out the possibility of a merger, company executives said.
In a statement posted on the company’s Web site, Skylark said the company had reached a preliminary agreement with Star Travel, an online travel agency unit of the Tsann Kuen Group (燦坤), to receive an undisclosed amount of cash to help it address immediate financial difficulties.
“Skylark will soon submit a business plan and apply for permission to resume operations [from the authorities],” the statement said.
Skylark was forced to suspend its operations following an order from the Tourism Bureau on Monday night, after the 19-year-old travel agency, which focuses on upscale Japanese tours, reportedly bounced checks of between NT$6 million (US$184,000) and NT$8 million and lost membership at the Travel Quality Assurance Association (TQAA, 旅行品質保障協會).
This was the second time Skylark reported financial problems in six months. Late last year, the company reportedly bounced checks of NT$400,000.
Aside from injecting cash to help Skylark overcome its financial problems, yesterday’s announcement of a business alliance would also require Star Travel to help Skylark repay a membership deposit of NT$100 million to TQAA if the latter wants its membership reinstated.
Skylark chairman David Kuo (郭正利) said yesterday he was pleased with the agreement with Star Travel, which will allow the company to retain its brand name and keep its management team intact.
“Keeping Skylark’s management team unchanged was one of the conditions for the talks,” local cable TV station USTV quoted Kuo as saying at a press conference yesterday.
But Kuo did not specify how much money his company needed to stay afloat, only saying that the situation was under control.
Tsann Kuen said in a separate statement yesterday that the company first contacted Skylark on Tuesday to express its interest in creating a business tie-up.
Hung Shao-shu (洪紹書), vice president at Tsann Kuen’s legal division, said the priority in the tie-up was to help Skylark address its immediate cash flow problems and protect the interests of Skylark’s customers and employees.
“As for asset or shareholding acquisition, we will work in this direction,” USTV quoted Hung as saying. He did not elaborate.
Tsann Kuen also runs one of the nation’s leading home appliances and consumer electronics chains.
The announcement yesterday came before the closure of local stock market, where its shares ended 4.53 percent higher at NT$27.7.
Tsann Kuen shares are up 119.84 percent this year, outperforming a 50.08 percent rise on the benchmark TAIEX, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
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