Libra Holidays has completed a deal to buy Argo Holidays and Jetlife.
Staff at Libra Holidays were told about the deal to acquire the brands and business of rival eastern Mediterranean tour operator Argo and sister longhaul specialist Jetlife last night.
A spokeswoman said: “An integration between the two companies will commence in the coming weeks and months.”
The deal comes just three months after Libra was restructured after it faced a number of financial difficulties. Private investors Allbury took a 35% shareholding of the business in November in return for a £1 million payment, with an option to take a further 25% for £2.5 million. It now owns 60% of the business. A new management team, including industry heavyweights Michael East and Eamonn Ferrin, was introduced as part of the rescue deal.
Last month Libra announced it had halved its capacity and dropped Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey to restore profitability to the business and focus on its core destinations of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.
Further details are not expected to be announced until Monday. It is not known how much Libra has paid for Argo, which has been linked with several companies in recent months including the XL Leisure Group and the Preston Travel Group.