Virgin Orbit Holdings, Richard Branson’s struggling small satellite launch and services business, is close to agreeing a deal for $200 million in much needed investment from Texas-based venture capital investor Matthew Brown, according to a report by Reuters.
Virgin Orbit Holdings, Richard Branson’s struggling small satellite launch and services business, is close to agreeing a deal for $200 million in much needed investment from Texas-based venture capital investor Matthew Brown, according to a report by Reuters.
The report cites a term sheet seen by Reuters as revealing that the investment will be made via a private share placement in the business, which saw its market capitalisation slump to a record low of $150 million on Tuesday from over $3 billion when it went public via a SPAC deal two years ago.
Under the terms of the deal, which has yet to be finalised and is believed to be non-binding at this stage, Brown will be entitled to convert his $200 million investment in Virgin Orbit’s preferred shares into common shares at the volume weighted average price in the 30 days before the deal is signed.
The company, which in recent months has received about £35 million of capital injections from Bransons Virgin Investments – Virgin Orbit’s largest shareholder with a stake of about 75% – said last week that it was “exploring strategic options” after it was forced to pause operations and furlough nearly all of its staff.
A mission by Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket to deploy nine small satellites into low earth orbit ended in failure in January due to an anomaly during its launch from beneath a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
A “small team” is due to return to work later this week, according to a reports.
