Finding a Buyer for Virgin Australia Is a Job Worth $127,000

Restructuring experts expect to be paid just A$200,000 ($127,000) for the monumental task of finding a buyer for Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., the highest-profile airline to fall to the coronavirus.

The debt-laden carrier said Tuesday it handed control to administrators at Deloitte after being overwhelmed by a near-halt in passenger revenue. The remuneration excludes a 10% goods and services tax, according to a circular to Virgin Australia’s creditors posted on Deloitte’s website.

Read more: Denied a Bailout, Virgin Australia a Warning for Other Airlines

The first creditors meeting is on April 30, the circular said.

Administrators aim to find a buyer for Virgin Australia, which had more than A$5 billion in debt at the end of 2019, in two to three months. More than 10 parties have expressed an interest, according to Vaughan Strawbridge, one of the four administrators.

Apart from the agreed-upon fee, Deloitte said it met with Virgin Australia’s board and discussed the implications of an insolvency before accepting the appointment. “We received no remuneration for this advice,” the firm said in the circular.