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Rex administrator EY Australia has begun a new recapitalisation and sale process for the airline.
In a statement to the ASX, EY said it has brought in Houlihan Lokey to manage the sale and “anticipates a competitive process” from interested parties.
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The news comes after the federal government announced earlier this month that it would nationalise Rex if a commercial buyer could not be found through the sale process, in order to ensure its essential transport services stay in the air.
Speaking on Sky News Regional Breakfast on Thursday, Regional Development Minister Kristy McBain said it is important for the government to back regional aviation.
“What we’ve said from day one is that we want to see the administration process go through in its entirety. What we want to see is a private buyer come through,” she said.
“We’ve made sure that there are incentives in place for that to take place, including the fact that the use-it-or-lose-it process for Sydney airport slots doesn’t automatically go into recession. We’ve extended that out to 2026. Those are the things that are important to buyers.
“What we’ve said is we would be a buyer of last resort. We’re not stepping in now. We’re not substituting the administration process. It’s still got a way to run, and the administrator is keen to work with the private market on it.”
The potential nationalisation of Rex, which comes after $80 million in federal funding and the government’s purchase of $50 million in Rex debt from financier PAG, means the airline could become the first to be owned by an Australian government since Qantas was privatised in the 1990s.
Rex entered voluntary administration at the end of July last year, with estimates it owed around $500 million to 4,800 creditors after its failed venture into competing with Qantas Group and Virgin Australia on domestic jet operations.
The government has since propped up the ailing carrier, including by guaranteeing its regional bookings and preserving its slots at Sydney Airport, but no buyers have thus far emerged.
EY Australia has sold aeromedical division Pel-Air to Japan-owned Toll Aviation and was in November reportedly looking to sell Rex’s flight school in Wagga Wagga.
