Virgin Australia seeks to raise $442.8 million in IPO, term sheet shows

Bain Capital-owned Virgin Australia is looking to raise A$685 million ($442.78 million) in an initial public offering, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The company has set the offer price at A$2.90 per share and the offer size reflects 30% of Virgin’s total issued capital.

Bain Capital did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The airline, Australia’s second largest behind Qantas, will sell 236.2 million shares in the IPO to value the company at A$2.32 billion on a fully diluted basis, the term sheet showed.

Virgin will have an enterprise value of A$3.6 billion, taking into account its net debt of A$1.31 billion.

Bain’s shareholding will reduce from about 70% to 39.4% following the IPO, while Qatar Airways will retain a 23% stake, according to the term sheet.

Institutional bookbuilding will close on Thursday and Virgin’s shares are due to start trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on June 24, the term sheet showed.

The 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.

Qatar Airways wins approval for stake in Virgin Australia

Virgin’s IPO has been in the making for more than two years but was put on hold due to volatile global financial markets during 2023 after investment banks were appointed.

Bain bought Virgin for A$3.5 billion ($2.45 billion) including liabilities five years ago after it was placed in voluntary administration, the closest Australian equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Virgin collapsed in 2020 following tough COVID-19 restrictions that damaged the global airline industry.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX200 index has gained 3.77% so far in 2025.