BUSINESS NEWS
Virgin Atlantic denies it needs a bailout by the end of May to survive
Virgin Atlantic in rush to secure private investors
Carrier appoints investment bank in wake of government knockback. By Ian Taylor
Virgin Atlantic is in a race to find investors after the government rejected its request for a £500 million bailout in the form of a loan and credit guarantee. The carrier appointed US
investment bank Houlihan Lokey to target private investors last week with “all options on the table”. The bank is understood to have
already approached private equity groups, hedge funds and government- backed sovereign wealth funds, and aims to firm up interest within a week. The move came as Air France-
34 30 APRIL 2020
KLM secured a minimum €9 billion in state aid from the French and Dutch governments, the German government bailed out Condor, formerly Thomas Cook’s German carrier, and Lufthansa sought €10 billion in aid from Berlin. Several investment funds are
reportedly interested in Virgin Atlantic, including Singapore wealth fund Temasek and are expected to form consortia to make any bids for stakes in the airline. A deal would need to be acceptable to Delta Air Lines, which owns 49% of the carrier.
Sir Richard’s Branson’s Virgin Group retains 51% of Virgin Atlantic. Delta made clear last week
that Virgin can expect no financial assistance from the US carrier, with chief executive Ed Bastian telling analysts: “We are not in a position to make any financial commitments and they know that.” However, Bastian insisted: “We
are going to stay close to our partners and provide strategic support.” He
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