Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane International) has announced it is to sell a 35% minority stake in its Velocity Frequent Flyer program to Affinity Equity Partners, one the Asia Pacific region's largest investment firms. The transaction gave Velocity an enterprise value of AUD960million (USD896.47million) and is expected to increase the company’s cash balance by AUD336million (USD313.76million).

"Under the plans, Velocity Frequent Flyer will remain under the Virgin Australia Group, with a long term commitment from the airline, and the introduction of a separate Velocity Frequent Flyer Board to work closely with the dedicated Velocity management team. Virgin Australia will maintain a majority stake in Velocity Frequent Flyer and majority representation on the Board, including the appointment of Chair and 65 per cent of voting rights of security holders," a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange read.

The announcement came after Virgin Australia, the country's second largest carrier, posted a full year net loss of AUD355.6million (USD313.39million) with chief executive John Borghetti labelling the last 12 months as being among the "most difficult operating environments in the history of Australian aviation."