Colourful return: A rainbow from a passing rain shower sits over Virgin Australia aircraft as luggage gets loaded at Sydney’s international airport. While no timetable is set, the company is seeking a return to the ASX after three years. — Reuters
SYDNEY: Virgin Australia Holdings Pty Ltd plans to interview lead underwriters starting in February for a return to public markets as soon as this year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Australia’s second-largest airline and its owner Bain Capital will begin interviewing banks at the end of next week for joint lead manager roles assisting the company to list again on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), said the people, who asked not to be named while discussing confidential matters.
A listing would come less than three years after Virgin Australia collapsed and was removed from the ASX.
Its decision to consider offering shares to the public is a sharp reversal that highlights how profitable the post-pandemic travel boom has been for airlines.
A Bain spokesman declined to comment on specific timing and directed Bloomberg to a statement from the firm last Monday that it would “shortly seek advice on a future initial public offering (IPO)” of Virgin Australia.
“Prior to Covid, Virgin Australia had a proud history as a public company,” Bain Capital partner Mike Murphy said in the earlier statement.
“While there is currently no set timetable, at some point in the future, if any IPO does happen, Bain Capital would welcome public market investors joining us as shareholders.”
Financial results lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for the financial year ending June 30 showed an operational loss of A$386.7mil (US$270.2mil or RM1.16bil).
Yet by September, chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka was saying the Australian airline had made enough financial progress that a listing was a possibility.
Meanwhile, shares of Australia’s largest carrier, Qantas Airways Ltd, traded at their highest level on Monday since February 2020.
Qantas should return to earnings before interest and taxes in the financial year 2023 as market reopenings accelerate, led by the passenger business.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts, revenue should exceed 80% of the total for the first time since Covid struck.
Bain plans to keep a significant shareholding in a future IPO of the company, Murphy said. — Bloomberg
