Privately held Golden Skies Ventures has made a $2.5b offer to fully take over the holding company of ailing state carrier Malaysia Airlines, with financing from a European bank, its executives said Monday. Malaysian firm GSV made the proposal a month ago, as airlines around the world were hammered by travel restrictions following the coronavirus pandemic. “(We have secured) in excess of $2.5b from the bank. We will take about three to four months to get the long-term financing,” CE Shahril Lamin said. GSV also has a commitment from a Japanese private equity firm to inject immediate funds into the aviation group through an equity deal. GSV declined to name the firms involved and said it was also in talks with other foreign banks and private equity firms for further funding. GSV has submitted its proposal to Morgan Stanley, the banker hired by the aviation group’s sole owner Khazanah Nasional Bhd.<br/>
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Four Qantas crew members who operated a repatriation flight from Chile have tested positive for the coronavirus but unlike their passengers, who were put into isolation in city hotels, they did not go into quarantine due to a special exemption. The latest news will raise fears about the safety of operating flights with crew who are not required to lock down for 14 days after travelling overseas and whether this amounts to a hole in Australia’s defences against the pandemic. The flight from Santiago landed in Sydney on 29 March. Passengers were put in quarantine for 14 days in city hotels but crew were free to return to their homes under an exemption for airline crew granted by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. A Qantas spokesman said the four were among 50 Qantas and Jetstar staff who have tested positive for Covid-19. The company disclosed the number on Friday. Under the exemption, crews do not have to go into isolation for 14 days meaning they are free to go to supermarkets and go home to their families, raising the potential for community spread. Qantas medical director, Dr Ian Hosegood, said the airline was complying with all of the requirements issued by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.<br/>