Arcandor CEO aims to keep all three core businesses

FRANKFURT, June 17 (Reuters) - Insolvent German tourism and retailing group Arcandor (AROG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) wants to avoid a break up and sale of its three divisions, Thomas Cook (TCG.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Karstadt and Primondo, Chief Executive Karl-Gerhard Eick said on Wednesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of an evening event in Frankfurt, Eick also rebuffed advances by retail rival Metro (MEOG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), explaining that a merger of Arcandor's Karstadt department store business with Metro's Kaufhof was currently not on the agenda.

"We as a company may have certainly lost a battle but not the war," Eick said, adding he hoped to use the vehicle of a structured insolvency proceeding to save the company.

Earlier, he said that stabilising Arcandor's mail order business Quelle was its number one priority at present, since Karstadt was relatively stable.

(Reporting by Eva Kuehnen)

((christiaan.hetzner@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: christiaan.hetzner.reuters.com@reuters.net; +49 69 7565 1249)) Keywords: ARCANDOR/CEO

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