Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic To Raise More Than $900M From Deutsche Bank, Others

Richard Branson owned Virgin Atlantic is in negotiations with Deutsche Bank AG DB and other lenders to raise funds to mitigate declining demand brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What Happened

The airline, owned by Branson’s Virgin Group, is looking to raise $916 million from the German bank along with a dozen other financial institutions, most of which are private-equity firms. The negotiations are set to continue in the next two weeks, someone familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.

The amount could include any loans the British government offers the airline. Virgin Atlantic has been negotiating with the government over rescue funding.

Why It Matters

Last week, the Virgin Group announced that it would sell 12% of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. SPCE, a space tourism firm, to bolster its other travel-related businesses, reported the WSJ.

The authorities in the United Kingdom have said they may impose a 14-day quarantine on anybody seeking entry into the country, this has made it difficult for Virgin Atlantic to arrive at an amount it needs to weather the pandemic.

While Virgin is still negotiating a rescue deal, its rivals in the United States have already reached a deal with the U.S. Treasury over a $50 billion bailout program.

Last month, Branson offered to put up his private island as collateral to raise funds for the beleaguered Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia airlines.