Virgin Australia says A$425m loan deal was kept under wraps

Virgin Australia says it has no reason to believe confidentiality in relation to its A$425m shareholder loan facility was breached before the deal was announced Monday, even though its share price had plunged 12.5% Friday. In response to a query from the Australian Securities Exchange, Virgin said the 12-month debt facility was not finalised until 11.50pm Sunday and was announced to the market as soon as possible. "Until this time the terms of the loan facility, including required third-party consents, were substantially incomplete and outside the entity's control," Virgin said. The Australian Financial Review's Due Diligence column, which went to print before the loan deal was finalised Sunday, raised the prospect Monday that the airline was seeking a shareholder-backed recapitalisation. <br/>