Fosun, the Chinese conglomerate, has spent billions on global acquisitions, including a French margarine maker, a Canadian circus troupe and Portuguese insurers. But it has yet to attempt a turnround of a big, lossmaking overseas company.
Yet that is the challenge facing the Shanghai-based group if it goes ahead with a plan to lead a £750m rescue of Thomas Cook, the British travel company, giving it a majority stake in its troubled tour operations business.
The best case for the investment appears to be matching Thomas Cook’s expertise in providing package tours in Europe and south-east Asia with the rapid growth in China’s outbound tourism.