Delta will invest $360 million in acquiring a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways currently held by Singapore Airlines, Delta said Tuesday, and the carriers said they had reached an agreement to create a joint venture, with antitrust immunity, that would "create an expanded transatlantic network and enhance competition between the U.K. and North America."
Virgin Group and Richard Branson will continue to own the majority stake in Virgin Atlantic.
The companies said that the deal would include a combined transatlantic network between the U.K. and North America, with 31 peak-day roundtrip flights, including 23 from London's coveted Heathrow airport, and cooperation on services between New York and London, with a total of nine daily roundtrip flights between Kennedy or Newark and Heathrow.
The venture enables the carriers to "offer a greatly expanded network at Heathrow and to overcome slot constraints, which have limited the growth and competitive ability of both airlines," Delta said in a statement.
The deal is subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation and will be reviewed by the Justice Department and the European Union's competition regulator, the airlines said.