TUI AG and TUI Travel complete merger

British and German travel companies TUI Travel and TUI AG have completed their €6.5bn merger to create the world's biggest tour operator, the pair said on Wednesday.

The shares of the combined company, to be known as TUI Group, will be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange immediately.

The group said the merger would allow it to achieve €170m of cost savings and tax benefits which would benefit shareholders in the new company's first full financial year. It will also streamline a complex holding structure that includes head offices in the UK and Germany and two separate stock market listings.

Joint chief executive Peter Long said: "Personally, I am very excited about what the future holds and the opportunities that lie ahead for us as TUI Group."

Joint chief executive Friedrich Joussen said: "Our 77,000 employees in 130 countries make sure that our customers experience unique holidays. Under the roof of the new TUI Group we want to grow and increase our international market position."

Sir Michael Hodgkinson, co-vice chairman of the supervisory board of TUI AG, said: "This merger has been wholly supported by shareholders from both sides and I am delighted that it has completed. The business is stronger as one TUI and with the new management structure in place our shareholders should look forward to the future."

The two companies announced the planned merger on 15 September and shareholders approved it on 28 October despite some doubts about whether it would go ahead.

The scheme of arrangement paving the way for the tie-up took effect on 11 December.