A group of banks, including RBS, may initiate a sale of a 43.9% controlling stake in Thomas Cook, which had been seized from insolvent German retailer Arcandor.
The move may signal a break-up of Arcandor, which filed for insolvency in June after its request for state assistance was rejected.
Talks between the administrator of Arcandor and the three banks are currently underway as to what action to take with the Thomas Cook stake.
It is thought that a market placing, an off-market sale, or a combination of the two, are the most likely options for the controlling stake.
Thomas Cook is Arcandor's most profitable business with annual sales of £8.8bn. The German retailer also owns the under-performing department store Primondo, and Karstadt.
The stake in the UK tour operator group was pledged by Arcandor as collateral in exchange for about 1.5bn EUROS of loans.
