Virgin Australia investors owed $2bn vow to present rival bid to buy airline

Bondholders owed $2b by Virgin Australia have committed to putting a rival bid for the stricken airline to its creditors at a meeting next month. During a federal court hearing on Friday morning, counsel for a group of the bondholders, Ian Jackman SC, raised concerns that a sale to US private equity group Bain Capital was being treated as a “fait accompli” by the airline’s administrators. Judge John Middleton rejected a request by the bondholders for access to the sale agreement between the administrators and Bain Capital. However, he warned the administrators that if they failed to disclose enough information to creditors to enable them to make an informed decision, they risked the creditors’ meeting becoming mired in litigation. This could potentially derail any sale, putting at risk the future of Australia’s second-biggest airline, which employs about 10,000 people. “It is in everybody’s interests for as much communication [as possible] to alleviate people’s concerns,” Middleton said. Jackman told the court the bondholders sought access to the sale agreement so that they could prepare a rival proposal, in the form of a deed of company arrangement, to be considered by the creditors.<br/>