 Other pieces of the Virgin Group are on their way to market |
Shares in no-frills airline Virgin Blue have jumped by 9% on their first day on the Australian Stock Exchange. The flotation, which was oversubscribed tenfold, values the airline at 2.3bn Australian dollars (�980m; $1.7bn).
The airline, founded by Richard Branson three years ago, has almost one-third of the domestic market in the face of resistance from incumbent Qantas.
It hopes to beat off competition from Jetstar, Qantas's new budget airline, which launches next May.
After the flotation, and having sold almost half the firm to Australian transport company Patrick Corp, Mr Branson owns only 25% of Virgin Blue.
Bits and pieces
Mr Branson reckons that Virgin Blue will see a 50%-plus jump in sales this year.
He plans to replicate the idea in New Zealand, another relatively uncompetitive market, with the launch of Pacific Blue in the New Year.
Mr Branson used the flotation publicity campaign to trumpet a few other pieces of news from the sprawling Virgin Group.
He said that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may use tax breaks to persuade him to locate his planned US budget airline in Los Angeles.
Virgin plans to set up an as-yet-unnamed carrier in the US in the middle of next year, and is currently looking for a base and partners.
He also said that his UK-based Virgin Mobile business could be the next piece of the Branson empire to float, possibly only after buying out its partner, German T-Mobile.
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