HNA to buy Virgin Australia stake

Plans to lift interest further, as Air New Zealand signals to sell its major holding

HNA Group, the Chinese conglomerate behind the country's largest private commercial airline, is buying a 13-percent stake in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd for A$159 million ($114 million), the company's latest in a series of overseas acquisitions.

The purchase is costing 30 Australian cents per share. Virgin Australia said in a statement HNA has the intention of raising that stake to 20 percent over time.