Two to remain in Virgin quest

DELOITTE will settle on a final shortlist of two preferred bidders for Virgin Australia early next week after parties reaffirmed their interest.

Melbourne-based BGH Capital and US-based private equity firms Bain Capital, Indigo Partners and Cyrus Capital Partners had until 2pm yesterday to reaffirm their non-binding bids for the debtladen airline.

Lead administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said the “competitive tension that has resulted from the process conducted to date confirms that all the parties have a genuine interest in the future of Virgin Australia, and see real value in the business, despite the uncertainty about when travel restrictions will be lifted”.