Bain Capital delays Virgin Australia listing until next year - source

Bain Capital Specialty Finance

10/10/2023 10:07

SYDNEY, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Bain Capital has put off its
plans for an initial public offering of Virgin Australia airline
to next year, a person with knowledge of the matter said on
Tuesday.
    The U.S.-based private equity firm will consider listing in
2024 after assessing market conditions, said the source who
declined to be identified as the discussions were private. 
    Bain said in January it would explore re-listing Virgin,
which it bought for A$3.5 billion ($2.45 billion) including
liabilities in 2020 after it was placed in voluntary
administration, the closest Australian equivalent to Chapter 11
bankruptcy.
    Reuters had reported that Bain was aiming for a A$1 billion
listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which would
be the largest new share sale in almost two years since GQG
Partners  GQG.AX  raised A$1.18 billion in a 2021 listing.
    However, the timeline of the deal has fluctuated, with the
transaction previously being aimed for mid-year, but then
reportedly moved to November. 
    Bain Capital declined to comment. Virgin refers all queries
about the IPO to Bain.
    Details of the postponement were first reported by Bloomberg
News on Tuesday, citing sources.
    There have been just 16 listings in Australia's stock market
this year, the lowest number of issuance since 2009, that raised
about US$500 million, according to LSEG data.
    
    
    Bain said on Tuesday that Virgin Australia had returned to a
profit for the first time in 11 years for fiscal 2023, buoyed by
a strong recovery in travel demand following the COVID-19
pandemic.
    The carrier reported a statutory net profit after tax of
A$129 million ($82.93 million) for the full year ended June 30,
2023, compared with a loss of A$565.5 million in 2022.

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 (Reporting by Praveen Menon and Lewis Jackson; editing by Miral
Fahmy)
 ((praveen.menon@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
praveen.menon.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter:
@Journopraveen))