The four shortlisted ones in the race are BGH Capital, Bain Capital, Indigo Partners and Cyrus Capital Partners.

Bain Capital, although a global private equity giant, has a substantial local presence led by former Olympic diver Mike Murphy, and has recruited former Jetstar chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka to its efforts.
The firm is also receiving advice from Herbert Smith Freehills and KordaMentha.
BGH Capital is based in Melbourne and focuses on Australian and New Zealand deals. Headed in part by former Qantas suitor Ben Gray, it has roped in ABL lawyer Leon Zwier and outgoing PwC chief Luke Sayers for advice.
The BGH pitch will focus on a “Team Australia” angle, saying it has the best interests of workers at heart and warning against foreign companies snapping up Virgin with the help of a low Australian dollar.
A third favourite, Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management, pulled out of the sale last weekend, expressing concerns about the timeline, the number of bidders still in the process, and Virgin’s liquidity position.
Mr Strawbridge had said he believed the sale process could be finalised by the end of June, and Brookfield felt this was too short a timeframe for detailed negotiations to take place with stakeholders if more than two bidders made the initial shortlist.
Another possible spanner in the works is the Foreign Investment Review Board, which sources close to the bidding process believe will carefully scrutinise all of Virgin’s suitors, including the local BGH Capital.
Although it is based in Australia, one of BGH Capital’s most significant backers is Singapore’s government-owned Temasek Holdings, and it required FIRB approval on its takeover of education provider Navitas last year.
But Mr Strawbridge does not expect these approvals to mess up his timeline for Virgin’s sale.
“We’ve been in contact with FIRB. We’ve been sharing information with them. It is something we have been mindful of since day one and been proactive at communicating with FIRB,” he said last week.
Further, the federal government has previously indicated it could wave any foreign buyer for Virgin through FIRB’s processes.