Deloitte has announced that it has selected two US private investment firms, Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners, as the final bidders for Virgin Australia Holdings.

The decision leaves three non-binding proposals out of the running, which local media had named as being from Indigo Partners, BGH Capital, and Brookfield Asset Management.

The five non-binding proposals were received on Friday, May 29, and “over the weekend and the past two days,” the administrators assessed the proposals. As the administrator for Virgin Australia Holdings, Deloitte is seeking a binding agreement with the winning bidder by June 30.

“Both Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners are well-funded, have deep aviation experience, and they see the real value of the business and its future,” said joint administrator Vaughan Strawbridge. “We will now spend the coming weeks facilitating in-depth bidder engagement with the stakeholders of the business and work closely with the preferred bidders in the lead up to binding final offers being received.”

He clarified that “the strong interest coming from all parties has generated the competitive tension we have sought that is important in a process such as this” and that the administrators would work to deliver “the best possible commercial outcome for all creditors and to see a strong and sustainable Virgin Australia emerge from this process.”

There will also be speculation, he added, that “entities associated with the parties that have not moved into this next phase, as well as others, could become involved in some capacity with the remaining parties. That will, of course, be a matter for them.”

Bain and Cyrus will now hold further meetings with Virgin’s management, workforce, lessors, and creditors ahead of lodging binding offers by June 12, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Boston-based Bain, which owns air transfer operator Trans Maldivian Airways (TMW, Malé), is being advised on its Virgin Australia offer by Jayne Hrdlicka, a former senior executive at Qantas Group subsidiary Jetstar Airways, Reuters reported.

New York-based Cyrus was an investor in Virgin America alongside Virgin Group founder Richard Branson before its sale to Alaska Airlines. Cyrus also invested in flybe. (2002) with Virgin Atlantic before the British regional carrier collapsed in March.

Virgin Australia entered voluntary administration on April 21, owing around AUD6.8 billion Australian dollars (USD4.6 billion) to creditors.