Monarch Airlines looking to fly higher with private equity help
Monarch Airlines, which returned to profit in 2013 after years of losses, could be about to get a private equity boost as the billionaire Mantegazza family, which founded and owns Monarch, may sell a stake in the airline.
The budget airline was refinanced by the Mantegazza family in 2009 and 2011, with a further refinancing believed to be under consideration this year. But the family has also sought advice from Dean Street Advisers, the corporate finance company that advised Monarch earlier this year, according to the Sunday Times.
Monarch Airlines, which began operating in 1968 and is headquartered at London Luton Airport, recently sought to reinforce its fleet with the purchase of 30 of Boeing’s 707 Max 8 planes at the Farnborough Airshow in mid July, in a deal worth approximately $3.1bn (£1.83bn).