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Middle Eastern airline Etihad Airways has again increased its interest in its strategic alliance partner, Virgin Australia Holdings Limited (ASX:VAH).
A form lodged to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) yesterday reveals Etihad’s stake in Virgin has now grown to 6.1 per cent from 5 per cent last month.
Etihad, the United Arab Emirates national airline, is understood to have paid more than $10 million on share purchases in the last three weeks.
Etihad CEO James Hogan has told The Australian the carrier plans to lift its interest in Virgin until it reaches the 10 per cent threshold allowed by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.
Shares in Virgin Australia fell 1.09 per cent on Monday to close at $0.455.
In the first half of the 2012 financial year Virgin Australia reported a net profit of $51.8 million.
