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Richard Branson Secures Lifeline for Virgin Atlantic
Deal worth $1.5 billion, including loans from U.S. fund Davidson Kempner, buys breathing room for broader Virgin Group
Many of Richard Branson's biggest investments are geared toward travel and leisure, industries particularly hard hit by the coronavirus crisis.
Photo: joel carrett/EPA/Shutterstock
Alistair MacDonald
@macdonaldajm
Alistair.Macdonald@wsj.com
Benjamin Katz
@_benkatz
ben.katz@wsj.com
Updated July 14, 2020 12:16 pm ET
LONDON—Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways said it secured a financial package worth about $1.5 billion that will allow it to stave off bankruptcy and provide some breathing room for the British billionaire's broader effort to stabilize a travel and tourism empire hit hard by the pandemic.
Mr. Branson's Virgin Group will invest £200 million ($250 million) in the U.K.-based airline, a popular option for trans-Atlantic flights. U.S.-based Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, meanwhile, is providing £170 million ($213 million) in secured loans. The deal is contingent on the airline making savings through deferrals of fees and advances from payments companies and aircraft lessors. The company will also push back orders of new Airbus SE aircraft, it said.