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Virgin Galactic has asked to sell up to $ 500 million in stock after founder Richard Branson’s successful flight into suborbital space on Sunday.
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. has asked to sell up to $ 500 million in stock following a rocket-powered test flight by founder Richard Branson who won praise on Wall Street as ” marketing stunt “.
The success of the hour-long mission over 50 miles above Earth has spurred Virgin Galactic’s plan to start offering sightseeing trips next year. But shares fell the most in nearly seven months after the disclosure of the potential sale of shares on Monday, suggesting the company needs additional funds as it prepares for its trading debut.
“Welcome to the dawn of a new space age,” Branson told guests Sunday at the Spaceport America complex near the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
Branson’s achievement is a “massive marketing stunt” for Virgin Galactic that will be hard for the general public to ignore, Ken Herbert, analyst at Canaccord Genuity, said in a research note. “The challenge now will be for the company to maintain momentum and establish a 2022 flight plan that can demonstrate a repeatable and increasing commercial launch cadence.”
Virgin Galactic plunged 17% to $ 40.69 at the close in New York, the biggest drop since December 14. Volatile stocks, which have hovered in recent weeks, doubled this year through July 9 as the company resumed its test flight program. Track.
Virgin Galactic plans to start working on a backlog of around 600 confirmed customers in early 2022. The company said it would resume ticket sales after the summer test flights, with executives saying fares would be higher than the previous price of $ 250,000 per seat.
A price tag of $ 300,000 should be achievable, suggested Will Whitehorn, a former president of Virgin Galactic who helped establish the company.
“Now that it’s working, I think they’ll be able to sell it for a higher price,” he said.
Blue origin
Suborbital travel marks the start of a historic month for the future of space tourism, with Branson demonstrating the capabilities of Virgin Galactic nine days before Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos plans to fly on a rocket made by Blue Origin, his space company. Both companies envision businesses catering to wealthy tourists willing to pay top dollar for a short period of weightlessness and unforgettable views of the Earth and the heavens.
Virgin Galactic’s test flight has shown that such journeys – once the realm of science fiction – are becoming more and more realistic.
Although they are mostly only accessible to a small number of very wealthy customers, they would add a new dimension to a burgeoning industry of private sector space companies with plans for trips to the International Space Station and new human outposts.
Branson and his teammates experienced a few minutes of weightlessness as Unity reached its maximum altitude.
“So I looked out the window and the view is just breathtaking,” operations engineer Colin Bennett said afterwards. “It’s very Zen; it’s very quiet there too.
Branson, who founded Virgin Galactic in 2004, said the memories of seeing Earth from space will stay with him.
“I can never do him justice,” he said. “It’s indescribably beautiful.”
(Update of actions in the fifth paragraph)
–With help from Blaise Robinson, Ksenia Galouchko, Christopher Jasper, Esha Dey and Tony Robinson.
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