NZs stake in VA headed to Asia

[MarkR]

Air New Zealand's 25.9 per cent stake in Virgin Australia looks to be headed to Asia.

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are no longer interested parties in the sale process, sources told Street Talk, which leaves China Southern, Hainan Airlines and Singapore Airlines as the most likely contenders.

But the Kiwi carrier, advised by First NZ Capital and Credit Suisse, faces a fresh challenge in getting a good price, with shares in Virgin Australia plumbing four-year lows to close at 29.5¢ on Thursday.

The likely cause was a broker note from Credit Suisse that said Virgin could require a $1 billion equity raising – double previous expectations – to bring its debt down to reasonable levels if the domestic market did not improve significantly after the airline issued a profit warning on Monday.

Read more: http://www.afr.com/street-talk/air-n...#ixzz47oq7xuKB