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Virgin Australia buys out Tiger Airways for A$1 | Virgin Australia buys out Tiger Airways for A$1 |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Virgin Australia will buy out loss-making budget carrier Tiger Airways Australia for A$1 (£0.54). | Virgin Australia will buy out loss-making budget carrier Tiger Airways Australia for A$1 (£0.54). |
Virgin already has a 60% stake in Tiger but will take full control in an effort to speed up a turnaround, it said. | Virgin already has a 60% stake in Tiger but will take full control in an effort to speed up a turnaround, it said. |
"We will benefit from the economies of scale and achieve profitability ahead of schedule by the end of 2016," said chief executive John Borghetti. | "We will benefit from the economies of scale and achieve profitability ahead of schedule by the end of 2016," said chief executive John Borghetti. |
Virgin bought its first stake in the venture from Singapore's Tiger Airways for A$35m last year. | Virgin bought its first stake in the venture from Singapore's Tiger Airways for A$35m last year. |
Tiger Airways, however, has struggled to win customers in a slumping domestic market. | Tiger Airways, however, has struggled to win customers in a slumping domestic market. |
"Given the ongoing subdued consumer demand in the Australian domestic market, the growth of the Tigerair Australia domestic fleet is likely to be reduced," Mr Borghetti said in a statement. | "Given the ongoing subdued consumer demand in the Australian domestic market, the growth of the Tigerair Australia domestic fleet is likely to be reduced," Mr Borghetti said in a statement. |
The airline currently has a fleet of 13 A320 aircraft and flies to 12 destinations within Australia. | |
In August, Virgin had said its annual net loss tripled to A$355.6m due to weak consumer sentiment, Australia's carbon tax and the cost of buying the stake in Tiger Airways. | |
The takeover, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by the end of this year, Virgin said. | The takeover, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by the end of this year, Virgin said. |
The move comes on the same day that Singapore Airlines announced that it would take majority control of Tiger Airways - of which Tiger Airways Australia was a subsidiary. | |
Singapore Airlines increased its stake from 40% to 55% in Tiger Airways after it reported making a record quarterly loss of S$182m. |