Indian airline giant flies into Virgin; Mesoblast gets one more roll of the dice; Brokers eye Westpac's stake in Pendal

Good evening,

Four more sleeps and the Virgin Australia madness should end.

Amid the 20-odd interested parties, Street Talk has tonight unveiled a strategic player with a big brand offshore and plans to restore Virgin to its roots.

And, to make things more confusing, it has the same name as another offshore party also believed to be in the data room.
The new face - an Indian airline group - is expected to put an indicative proposal to Deloitte later this week.

From there, it will be up to the administrator and its bankers to decide whether it's a serious contender and should be shortlisted for the second round.

Elsewhere, we look at Mesoblast's latest test of faith, and who brokers and fund managers are watching in blocks and raisings as equity capital markets deals fly.

Oh, and we have spotted another ex-UBS executive in the Matthew Grounds camp.

Happy reading,

Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd

Street Talk Editors