Fri "The Australian"
Branson won't give up on Virgin Blue
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
April 01, 2005
RICHARD Branson's Virgin Group has again expressed its determination to stay in Virgin Blue, saying it is confident the airline is well positioned to ride out current conditions.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange yesterday, Virgin Group, which founded the airline but sold down its stake in the 2003 share market float, said it had no intention of selling any of its shares under the Patrick offering of $1.90, due to expire at 7pm tonight.
"Virgin Group believes Virgin Blue is well positioned for the current tough trading conditions with a very low cost base, a motivated group of employees and cash reserves in excess of $600 million," Sir Richard said.
"Since Patrick Corporation announced its initial offer on January 28, Virgin Group has purchased further shares on market increasing our shareholding to 25.57 per cent."
The statement came as Patrick announced it had 54.26 per cent of Virgin and had no intention of increasing its bid or extending the offer.
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