Virgin Australia Plans to Raise $445 Million Through IPO
Virgin Australia Holdings Limited on Friday confirmed its intention to proceed with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), and filed a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and filed with the ASX.
Virgin Australia is Australia’s second largest airline group, focused on delivering great value and choice to approximately 20 million passengers annually.
The IPO comprises an offer of 236.2 million fully paid ordinary shares (Shares) at an offer price of $1.88 per share, raising approximately $445 million to allow certain existing equity holders the opportunity to realise part of their investment in the company.
On completion, investors participating in the offer are expected to hold 30.2% of shares on issue, with the remainder being held by existing investors, which include Bain Capital, Qatar Airways Group, Virgin Group, and Queensland Investment Corporation.
It is currently expected that trading of shares on the ASX will commence on 24 June 2025, initially on a conditional and deferred settlement basis.
According to Reuters, which has gone through the deal term sheet, the IPO is Australia’s largest for the year so far and will see Bain’s stake drop to 39.4% from about 70%. Qatar Airways, which recently bought into the airline, will retain a 23% holding.
The airline’s IPO is being carried out through a front-end book-building process, which means investor bids are taken ahead of the prospectus being reviewed and approved by Australian regulators.
“Institutional investors will be allowed to lodge their bids for the shares until Thursday, and the stock is due to start trading on June 24,” the report said.
Revitalised under the ownership of Bain Capital, Virgin Australia is a value carrier which operates a fleet of more than 100 aircraft on 76 routes to 38 destinations across its domestic and short-haul international airline business.
The airline has a world class suite of international airline partners which enable its customers to fly to over 650 destinations globally, and from next week will commence its own long-haul international services between Australia and Doha through a wet lease with Qatar Airways.
Virgin Australia’s airline business is supported by the award-winning loyalty program Velocity, which has approximately 80 commercial partners and approximately 13 million members, making it one of the largest loyalty programs in the country.
Opportunity for New Investors
Virgin Australia Chairman Peter Warne said that after making significant progress in Virgin Australia’s transformation and with the backing of leading global airline Qatar Airways Group as a strategic investor, they believe it was now appropriate for the business to transition to a publicly listed company.
“This provides an opportunity for new investors to share in the success of Virgin Australia as the airline enters its next phase. I commend all those involved in orchestrating Virgin Australia’s remarkable turnaround and setting the business up for long-term success,” he added.
The airline’s CEO Dave Emerson said that Virgin Australia is a simple, focused business with a transformed operational and commercial model.
“We have a clear strategy and an incredible team of people who deliver wonderful flying experiences to our customers every day. We are delivering on our ambition to be Australia’s most loved airline and continuing to expand our award-winning Velocity frequent flyer program,” Emerson said.
