Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners are on the final shortlist of potential buyers for Virgin Australia.
“The next stage in this sale process begins today,” administrator Deloitte said on 2 June.
Deloitte will facilitate engagement between the preferred bidders and business stakeholders in the coming weeks, and work closely with the bidders in the lead up to binding final offers being received.
Vaughan Strawbridge, joint administrator and restructuring services partner, says: “It is still the intention to have a binding agreement in place by 30 June, which remains unchanged.”
Strawbridge says the carrier received five non-binding indicative proposals on 29 May, from which the two preferred bidders were shortlisted.
“Both Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners are well-funded, have deep aviation experience, and they see the real value of the business and its future.”
The sale process has generated “the competitive tension we have sought”, which Deloitte says puts it in good position to deliver “the best possible commercial outcome for all creditors, and to see a strong and sustainable Virgin Australia emerge from this process”.
Strawbridge adds: “There will also be speculation that entities associated with the parties that have not moved into this next phase, as well as others, could become involved in some capacity with the remaining parties. That will, of course, be a matter for them.”
