Virgin Australia’s plans to go back into public ownership this year have been put on hold by owners Bain Capital who have cancelled the remaining meetings with fund managers this year.
Speculation was mounting that Bain was planning an IPO for the carrier later this year with a series of meetings in the region looking to drum up support.
But a roadshow this week headed by Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka, chief financial officer Race Strauss and chief development officer David Marr was cancelled “due to unforseen circumstances”, according to the Australian Financial Review.
There are many factors at play with an IPO, but a potential delay in Boeing’s supply of MAX jets could hit Virgin, with the carrier having eight Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and 25 MAX 10s on order.
Bain Capital acquired Virgin out of administration for $3.5 billion in late 2020 and has indicated a surge in revenue to “roughly $2.5 billion” in the first half of this financial year.
