On 11 January 2019, Connect Airways made a £2.2 million cash offer to take over the entire share capital of Flybe, subject to shareholder and court approval. The offer also included the acquisition of
Stobart Air shortly before the Flybe takeover. On 15 January 2019, Connect Airways increased its offer by £600,000, and set out improved bridging loan conditions, with £10 million to be released immediately to support Flybe's business, and a further £10 million available. Subsequent funding of £80 million was also confirmed. Flybe Group accepted the £2.8 million offer and noted that its shares had been transferred to a standard listing, effective on 17 January, meaning that shareholder approval for the sale of the group's operating assets, i.e. the airline and the website, would no longer be required. The deadline for the deal to close was 22 February 2019. On 21 February 2019, Flybe Group confirmed that its operating assets, i.e. the airline and the website, had indeed been transferred to Connect Airways, despite a last-minute rival bid. The sale of the parent company, Flybe Group plcnow an empty shell was confirmed by its shareholders at a meeting on 4 March and became effective on 11 March. On 5 July 2019, merger clearance from the
European Commission was granted, giving Connect Airways full control of the Flybe assets. This was conditional on Connect Airways releasing slot pairs at both
Amsterdam–Schiphol and
Paris–Charles de Gaulle. In 2020 the consortium would have rebranded Flybe as Virgin Connect and changed its values to align the airline with the Virgin brand. The aim was to create a "fully-fledged UK network carrier" with an enhanced presence at
Heathrow and
Manchester airports. Flybe and Stobart Air would have however retained their own
Air Operator Certificates , the Virgin Connect website contained some basic information and FAQs about the further plans for the rebranding but would have eventually become the website used to book flights from 2020. The Virgin group also launched a new landing page to avoid confusion with the existing
Virgin Connect brand used in Russia for internet and mobile services. In February 2020, the UK government envisaged granting Flybe a £100 million rescue loan, and held talks with the EU Commission to ensure that state aid rules were not broken. In the early morning of 5 March 2020, Flybe filed for administration and ceased all operations with immediate effect after the UK government failed to grant a proposed £100 million ($129 million) loan. Virgin Atlantic stated that Connect Airways could "no longer commit to continued financial support" despite its investment of over £135 million, and placed part of the blame on the negative impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on Flybe's trading. On 10 March 2020, Connect Airways in turn entered administration. == References ==