M&A WATCH- Samih Sawiris acquires Thomas Cook’s German business: The Samih Sawiris majority-owned Raiffeisen Touristik Group (RT) has acquired the German subsidiary of now-bankrupt British travel giant Thomas Cook, Sawiris’ Orascom Development Egypt (ODE) said in a press release (pdf). The acquisition, for which no value was disclosed, will bring 280 of Thomas Cook-affiliated agencies under RT, a company based in Burghausen, Germany, with annual revenues of EUR 3.5 bn. It also establishes Sawiris as “the most powerful travel contractor in German tourism,” and RT as the third-largest German travel company by sales, Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper said. Thomas Cook went into liquidation last September after it failed to reach an agreement with its creditors.