Among those holding out its hands for government bail-out is Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic which is calling on the British government to provide 500 million pounds of government-backed loans and credit guarantees. Airbus SE and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, which respectively sold planes and engines to Virgin Atlantic, have also been lobbying the U.K. on Virgin Atlantic’s behalf. It’s hardly surprising that Airbus and Rolls-Royce are taking Branson’s side, as Virgin Atlantic had 2.6 billion pounds of future capital commitments for things like planes and engines.
Branson himself is worth $5.2 billion and to be fair he has injected $100 into the airline. However, the British government’s offer to cover 80% of the wages of furloughed workers is already a pretty generous hand-out. Virgin Atlantic’s yearly wage bill is more than 300 million pounds.
If Branson is short of ready cash, there are other assets he could perhaps monetize, including a majority stake in space company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc., whose market capitalisation is $2.9 billion.
If no more money is forthcoming from the owners many of whom are tax-haven British Virgin Islands domiciled shareholders, the British government should insist that Branson dilutes his ownership of Virgin Atlantic by signing over some equity to taxpayers.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-02/richard-branson-wants-a-virgin-atlantic-bailout-really
Branson himself is worth $5.2 billion and to be fair he has injected $100 into the airline. However, the British government’s offer to cover 80% of the wages of furloughed workers is already a pretty generous hand-out. Virgin Atlantic’s yearly wage bill is more than 300 million pounds.
If Branson is short of ready cash, there are other assets he could perhaps monetize, including a majority stake in space company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc., whose market capitalisation is $2.9 billion.
If no more money is forthcoming from the owners many of whom are tax-haven British Virgin Islands domiciled shareholders, the British government should insist that Branson dilutes his ownership of Virgin Atlantic by signing over some equity to taxpayers.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-02/richard-branson-wants-a-virgin-atlantic-bailout-really
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