Investors led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital will share a A$730 million ($495.16 million) payment, according to a source who was not authorised to speak publicly.
It will be structured as a capital reduction rather than a
dividend, with Bain Capital taking around 90% followed by
Richard Branson's Virgin Group with 5% and the rest going to the
remaining shareholders, the source added.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson confirmed the contents of
the internal email. A Bain Capital spokesperson declined to
comment.
The airline had sought up to A$450 million of loans for the
capital return, Reuters reported in March.
The rewards to staff and shareholders come as Virgin
Australia, the key domestic rival to Qantas Airways Ltd , prepares for what is likely to be one of the country's
biggest listings this year.
"I can also confirm the IPO planning is well advanced,"
Cotton said in the email to staff seen by Reuters.
"While there is still no date set and our ultimate window of
opportunity will depend on market conditions, we are hopeful
this process will progress over the coming quarters," he added.
Virgin Australia Chief Executive Jayne Hrdlicka said on
Monday that she would take several weeks of leave to spend time
with family after the death of her husband from cancer.
In an email drafted before her departure that accompanied
Cotton's, she said the payments to staff and shareholders
reflected the "monumental feat" of returning the airline to
profitability for the first time in more than a decade.
Bain Capital bought Virgin Australia in 2020 after it was
placed in voluntary administration, the closest Australian
equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Scott Murdoch and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jamie Freed)
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