Creditors approve sale of Virgin Australia to Bain Capital

Creditors of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd voted in favor of selling the airline to US private equity group Bain Capital, says administrator Deloitte.

The deal with Bain would allow unsecured creditors to get back 9 to 13 percent of their investment and involves a financial commitment of A$3.5 billion.

According to Deloitte, Virgin shares should be transferred to Bain Capital by Oct. 31.

Virgin Australia has been under voluntary administration since April due to the $5 billion it owes creditors.

Bain Capital Managing Director Mike Murphy described the purchase approval by creditors as an "important milestone in the airline’s recovery."

Under Bain’s business plan, Virgin will a third of its workforce as it focuses on being a domestic and short-haul international operator competing against Qantas Airways Ltd.

Virgin Chief Executive Paul Scurrah said the airline would exit unprofitable routes and would likely cede some market share to Qantas.

Before the pandemic, Virgin had spent a decade transforming itself from a low-cost carrier to a full-service rival to Qantas competing for corporate travelers, but that came at the cost of years of losses.

With Virgin planning to market itself more as a value-for-money option, Scurrah expects budget airlines to be under more pressure with the lower cost competition they will provide.