Virgin Australia: Queensland government could join multiple bids for airline

The Queensland government could partner with multiple separate bidders for Virgin Australia, and is understood to be considering offering $200m to join any serious consortia that would guarantee the beleaguered airline remains headquartered in Brisbane. It is understood that one of the leading possible bidders, Canadian investment giant Brookfield Asset Management, has yet to settle on potential consortium partners and is open to joining with Queensland. Virgin Australia’s lead administrator, Vaughan Strawbridge, is expecting the field of potential owners to narrow dramatically, from around 19 interested parties to about eight, when preliminary bids are lodged on Friday. The Queensland treasurer, Cameron Dick, has tasked the Queensland Investment Corporation to assess a potential investment by the state. Queensland is not looking to buy the airline outright but could take a small, “strategic” stake in a future ownership structure, likely to be close to the $200m amount that the government previously offered as a bailout prior to Virgin being placed in administration. NSW has also left open the prospect of investing in a reborn Virgin, which could provide an anchor tenant for a new Sydney airport to be built at Badgery’s Creek, but has not committed itself to bidding. Story has full details.<br/>