Virgin Orbit will go public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company with a valuation of US$ 3.7 billion

Sep, 2021 - By SMI

Virgin Orbit, a satellite-launching subsidiary from Virgin Galactic, the firm is merging with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, which lists on the NASDAQ is worth US$ 3.7 billion in equity to Virgin Orbit.

Virgin Orbit, a satellite launch subsidiary from Sir Richard Branson’s space travel firm Virgin Galactic, will go public via a shell-company partnership, the company announced on August 23, 2021.

Virgin Orbit intends to combine with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company, before the end of 2021. It will be traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "VORB." The merger will bring Virgin Orbit US $ 483 million in fresh money, including US$ 383 million from NextGen and US$ 100 million from another round of private investment in public equity includes Boeing and private equity firm AE Industrial Partners. Virgin Orbit is valued at US$ 3.7 billion in equity by the SPAC, which is co-led by George Mattson, who earlier co-led Goldman Sachs' global industrials group, and fellow PerkinElmer chairman and CEO Gregory Summe.

Virgin Orbit, which was launched in 2017, launches a tiny rocket known as LauncherOne from the underwing of a modified Boeing 747 known as Cosmic Girl. LauncherOne is designed to launch small satellites weighing up to 500 kilograms into orbit. It utilizes an “air launch” approach, which the firm promotes as more consistent and faster than the more usual ways of launching rockets vertically from the land. The firm launched its first commercial mission in June 2021 after reaching orbit for the first time in January 2021 and deploying 10 satellites.

Virgin Orbit intends to be profitable in terms of EBITDA by 2024. According to the firm, it has around US$ 300 million in ongoing contracts and another US$ 2.3 billion in recognized sales possibilities that are presently being explored. The company's primary rocket business would expand to around 18 launches in 2023.