Bain Capital has picked the top arrangers for Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd.’s initial public offering, which could be one of the country’s biggest listings this year, according to a person familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — Bain Capital has picked the top arrangers for Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd.’s initial public offering, which could be one of the country’s biggest listings this year, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., UBS Group AG and Barrenjoey Capital Partners Pty Ltd. have been selected as lead managers for the share sale, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The appointments came after about eight investment banks were interviewed in recent weeks for the offering.
Discussions are ongoing and details of the IPO including timeline could still change, the people said. The Australian Financial Review reported the bank lineup earlier on Thursday. Representatives for Bain, Barrenjoey and Goldman declined to comment, while a representative for UBS didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
In addition to arranging the IPO, investment banks were also asked to put forward proposals for a so-called dividend recapitalization in which Bain would take cash off the airline’s balance sheet for itself before the listing, Bloomberg News reported last week.
The airline plans to canvas investor interest based on projections of about A$400 million ($276 million) in net profit after tax for the 2023 financial year, people familiar with the matter have said. It may seek to be valued at an earnings multiple close to that of Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s largest airline.
A listing would mark the comeback of Virgin Australia to the local stock exchange less than three years after it collapsed under a mountain of debt at the start of the pandemic. Bain bought the airline in an A$3.5 billion rescue deal that wiped out much of the claims of unsecured creditors.
Virgin Australia is now focused on keeping hold of one-third of the domestic passenger market and short-haul flights to destinations such as New Zealand.
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