Virgin Australia is valued at $2.3 billion ($1.5 billion) following its initial public offering and is set to resume public transactions.
Confirming plans to resume trading on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on June 24, Virgin Australia said it would provide approximately 30.2% of its shares (approximately 236.2 million shares) as part of its IPO. At $2.90 per share, the offering is valued at around $685 million.
The airline says the funds raised from the IPO will allow certain existing stockholders an opportunity to realize some of their investments in the company.
The airline is owned by US private equity firm Bain Capital and purchased the airline in 2020 after joining voluntary administration during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Virgin Australia, the country's second largest operator, was listed on ASX for 16 years before Bain purchased it.
My career has been considering relisting for a long time. In June 2022, CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said that the airline's “long-term goals” were to be relisted on ASX but did not commit to a solid timeline.
In January 2023, Bain said he was seeking advice for future IPOs as he tried to “relocate” for “continuous growth and long-term prosperity.”
In March this year, Qatar Airways announced plans to acquire 25% of Virgin Australia as part of its strategic investment in which the latter wet leasing Qatar Boeing 777 resumes long-term operations.
