Bain on Hook for $543 Million Break Fee If Virgin Deal Fails
- Guarantee aims to lock in Bain even as aviation markets worsen
- Australian airline’s creditors to vote on takeover next month
Aircraft operated by Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. stand at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 17.
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Bain Capital has agreed to pay A$750 million ($543 million) should it fail to buy Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., an unusually high break fee that helped win over the collapsed airline’s administrator.
The U.S. private equity firm made the pledge “to underpin its commitment to the transaction,” it said in a statement. Administrator Deloitte agreed to sell the struggling airline to Bain in June, though the deal’s terms weren’t made public.