ACCC greenlights increased Air New Zealand stake in Virgin The competition regulator will allow Air New Zealand to increase its stake in Virgin Australia to 26 per cent, which will let it cement its position as the largest shareholder. The regulator's latest decision comes just two days after it gave the green light to Virgin extending its alliance with Air New Zealand on trans-Tasman routes for another five years, two years longer than originally proposed. The competition watchdog said today that the Kiwi carrier's proposed acquisition of a larger stake in Virgin would not be likely to result in a substantial lessening in competition in any market. ""[The purchase] would not provide Air New Zealand with the ability to control or materially influence Virgin or significantly affect Air New Zealand's incentives to compete with Virgin,"" the ACCC said. It means Air New Zealand will be the largest shareholder in Australia's second-largest airline, followed by Singapore Airlines at 19.9 per cent. Middle Eastern airline Etihad also raised its stake in Virgin from 10.5 per cent to 12.3 per cent this week. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group has holdings of 12.5 per cent. However, the English entrepreneur has made clear he eventually intends to sell down his stake in the airline.