Where has it been said with any degree of certainty that Cobham Australia is for sale?
Maybe they do not fit with "core business" but the business of business is to make money which Cobham Australia does for Cobham PLC so why sell that BU? They don't seem to have been worried for the last decade or so that it was not "core business". They were happy to take the cheques that were rolling in.
The second point is who will buy it? Virgin is in severe cost cutting mode not acquisition mode. The current CEO can see what fun Tiger and Skywest were/are to manage as part of "the group". QF may take their own 717s back in house but why? The Cobham pilots and Altara cabin crew are cheaper, much cheaper. Alliance to buy Cobham ? Who else is there? Regional Express? Not their core business is it?