Qatar Airways buys into Virgin Australia, raises stakes against Qantas

Qatar Airways will buy a 25 per cent stake in Virgin Australia from U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital, posing a tougher contest for Qantas Airways that has dominated Australian routes and pushed back against giving access to the Middle Eastern carrier.

The purchase of the minority stake for an undisclosed amount will need to be signed off by Australia's government, which denied Qatar Airways' requests last year to fly additional services into Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

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"This partnership brings the missing piece to Virgin Australia's longer-term strategy," Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said in a statement.