Strawbridge, in the matter of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (administrators appointed) (No 9)

In the Federal Court of Australia, the case of Strawbridge, in the matter of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (administrators appointed) (No 9) involves an application by Vaughan Strawbridge, Salvatore Algeri, John Greig and Richard Hughes, as joint and several deed administrators of several companies, to transfer shares in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd to Bain Capital. The applicants seek leave to transfer shares under section 444GA(1)(b) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and machinery orders under section 447A of the same Act. The key legal issues in this case revolve around the appropriateness of granting leave to transfer shares in the context of a voluntary administration and whether the proposed transfer is in the best interests of the company and its creditors.

The court considered the evidence presented by the applicants, including the affidavits of Mr Strawbridge and Mr John-Henry Eversgerd of FTI Consulting, and assessed the submissions of the four interested parties who opposed the application. The court found that the sale process undertaken by the administrators was thorough and that the Bain Transaction was in the best interests of the creditors and the company. The court also considered the terms of the Bain DOCAs and the endorsement of the Bain Proposal by the creditors of the Virgin Companies.

Based on the evidence and submissions, the court granted the application for leave to transfer the shares in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd to Bain Capital or its nominee. The court also made machinery orders to permit the deed administrators to give effect to the proposed share transfer. The court ordered that the deed administrators' costs of and incidental to this application be costs and expenses in the deed administration of the company and that the court's orders be entered forthwith.