Bain Capital, Dave Emerson, Ryan Cotton hit road for third try at floating Virgin Australia

Private equity giant Bain Capital is schmoozing big-ticket investors ahead of a potential share market float of Virgin Australia by the end of this financial year.

New Virgin boss Dave Emerson, a former Bain airline executive, is helping with pre-float briefings in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore in a bid to get fund managers interested ahead a formal share sales pitch.

The roadshows are not believed to be focused on detailed numbers for a float or the financial performance of airline, instead updating potential investors on developments in the business and ownership.

Having received the necessary regulatory approvals, Virgin Australia is ready to complete a $1 billion deal that will see Qatar Airways buy a 25 per cent and operate long-haul flights for the Australian carrier to Doha from Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Bain has cut debt and modernised Virgin Australia’s fleet since buying it from administrators in late 2020, while being forced to stay invested for an unusually long time for a private equity play.

It would be Bain’s third attempt to offload the airline.

The US group tried to get the airline back on to the Australian Securities Exchange in mid-2022. But it abandoned those plans by the end of winter, with Bain Australia boss and Virgin Australia chair Ryan Cotton blaming volatile share markets.

It had another go in 2023 but canned it blaming a variety of external factors including offshore investor briefings having to be cancelled so then chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka could deal with the death of her husband.

The 2023 float flew plans also flew into the political controversies linked to Qantas’ conduct in the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, including its dealing with flight credits.

The appetite for company floats is still low and the Bain team will again be trying to sell into an erratic share market as investors try to guess US president Donald Trump’s next move.

But with volatility a likely fixture in markets for several years, Bain is reportedly hoping to get float documents formally prepared by May to sell its 70 per cent stake in the airline in June.

Qantas’ share price is up 64 per cent in the past year.

Virgin Australia last week filed the crucial pre-float paperwork on changing its registered status from a private, or proprietary limited, to a public company.

These changes were not made ahead of either the 2022 or 2023 float attempts.

Virgin Australia would not comment on the float preparations, referring any queries to Bain.

Bain declined to comment.

Once the float paperwork is revealed, potential investors will likely need to dig deep in Virgin Australia accounts to understand the profitability of the group in a tough industry and its recent performance.

The airline posted a 320 per cent rise in its net profit to $545m in the 2023-24 financial year, but its biggest profit item was a $278m net gain on the mass cancellation of flight credits.

The 2023-24 accounts revealed it had paid $348m of dividends to Bain, taking the amount in total plucked out of the Australian airline beyond $1 billion.

In one of her last moves as Virgin Australia boss last month, Ms Hrdlicka told staff the airline had enjoyed its best December half result in its 24-year history.