Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd’s administrator said on Monday that it had received final offers for Australia’s second-biggest airline from Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners and that it hoped to select a preferred bidder by June 30.
Bondholders are working on a revival plan for the airline involving a debt-to-equity swap if they are not satisfied with the bid the administrator chooses, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Virgin, which competes against larger rival Qantas Airways Ltd, entered voluntary administration in April and owes nearly A$7 billion ($4.80 billion) to creditors.
Bain and Cyrus have both proposed to operate the airline as a smaller, single-branded domestic and short-haul international carrier with growth potential, administrator Vaughan Strawbridge of Deloitte said in a statement. Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board has approved both bids, he said.
