Administrators of Virgin Australia announced Friday morning, June 26, that the airline will be flying under new ownership.
Virgin Australia Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Paul Scurrah, said this was a significant step forward in securing the airline’s future.
Virgin Australia has acquired new ownership.
Virgin Australia is now under the control of US private equity firm Bain Capital after beating New York-based investment firm Cyrus Capital Partners, who had also submitted a bid.
‘Bain Capital has spent many hours over the past weeks speaking to us and getting a deep understanding of our business and working to secure a deal with our administrators. We know they are committed to investing in the airline and we are thrilled to be working with them into the future,’ said Scurrah.
The terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed to the public.
The news broke after Virgin Airlines had voluntarily filed for administration in April of this year after it had failed to acquire support from the Australian government.
The financial situation for Virgin Airline got so dire that billionaire founder Richard Branson offered his Necker Island estate, located in the Caribbean as collateral ‘to raise as much money against the island as possible to save as many jobs as possible around the group.’ According to reports from CNN.
‘We thank our customers and partners for their loyalty and support during such a challenging period. Australia needs a second airline and, with the significant backing of Bain Capital, we’ll continue to serve our customers with competitive fares and high-quality air travel into the future.’ Added Scurrah.
Image Credit: Twitter/@VirginAustralia
