With Bain Capital cutting its stake in Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane International) by selling 30% of its shares during an initial public offering (IPO) in late June 2025, the investment firm is reportedly on the lookout for other struggling airlines to invest in, Bloomberg reported.
The US-based firm sold the chunk of its stake in Virgin Australia for AUD685 million Australian dollars (USD446 million), tripling Bain’s initial investment. It still owns almost 40% of Virgin Australia and remains the biggest shareholder. According to Mike Murphy, the partner who led the initial acquisition, the deal's success has changed Bain’s view of aviation as an investment.
“We would absolutely be up for it again in a different geography in a different context,” Murphy told Bloomberg. "We have got the skills to pull it off,” he added, revealing that the firm had already looked at possible deals in India.
ch-aviation reached out to Bain Capital for further comment but it said there was nothing to announce yet.
The remaining portion of the carrier is retained by the preexisting ownership group, including Bain, Qatar Airways Group (which acquired a 23% stake in 2024), Virgin Group, and Queensland Investment Corporation. After the IPO, parent entity Virgin Australia Holdings Limited began trading once more at the Australian Securities Exchange, listing under the ticker code VGN.
Bain Capital, along with two investment partners, acquired Virgin Australia in 2020 after it slid into voluntary administration, paying around AUD700 million (USD450 million) for the airline but also taking on debts of AUD5.15 billion (USD3.3 billion).
The company operates a fleet of 117 aircraft, including nine B737-700s, eight B737-8s, seventy-seven B737-800s, four B777-300ERs, seven F100s, three F70s, and four Saab 340B(Plus).
