Billionaire founder of Virgin Group Richard Branson says there are several potential buyers in talks to acquire a stake in Virgin Australia.
Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Branson also said Virgin Group itself hasn’t ruled out upping its own stake.
"There are discussions going on with them and a number of different parties and we will watch with interest what happens," Branson said. "Whether or not we will end up buying it, we will have to see. I am a great believer in Virgin Australia," he said.
Virgin Australia’s largest investor Air New Zealand said recently it is considering offloading its 26% stake in Virgin Australia.
Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines also have a significant stake in the airline, along with Virgin Group’s 10% share.
Virgin’s US airline business Virgin America is being acquired by Alaska Airlines for $2.6 billion, and Branson said if the Virgin America brand does disappear, he has plans to start a new airline business in the United States.
"If they decide not to keep the brand, we’ll start again in America and we have some plans if it doesn’t happen. I think Alaska, when they do their research, will realise that what they bought was the Virgin America ethos and to destroy that would destroy the value of what they spent in buying it."
