Virgin Orbit is “exploding”. newspaper

Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson’s satellite launch company, is about to collapse. The company is suspending operations until March 21 while it seeks financing. It is evident that Virgin Orbit’s capitalization was limited to $320 million, when in 2021 it was more than $3 billion. 28

In addition to the crisis experienced by the banking sector, it is in a deplorable state and businessman Richard Branson of Virgin Orbit, which is active in satellite launches. However, severe liquidity problems have forced it to suspend operations and enter into discussions to secure financing.

Moreover, since the pause will last until March 21, as announced by the company itself, almost all of its employees have been suspended. If and when they will return to their duties, they will be notified in the middle of next week.

And Reuters reported, quoting a reliable source, that the move was decided to give Virgin Orbit enough time to develop a new investment plan and finalize it. Its share price fell sharply in morning trading, with losses amounting to 31%, which continued, and reached 33.18% in the afternoon, at 67 cents per dollar.

With the initial drop alone, its capitalization has been reduced to about $320 million. It is worth noting that this value is far from the valuation of more than $3 billion that it achieved in 2021, after it was listed on the stock exchange as a special-purpose vehicle.

Virgin Orbit’s market capitalization has shrunk to $320 million, when in 2021 it was more than €3 billion.

The sharp drop reflects investor interest in startups with operations in space, such as Virgin Orbit and Rocket Lab USA — two rocket companies that are in particularly stiff competition.

The interest in anemia is also reflected in the performance of Rocket Lab’s share price, which has fallen about 70% in the past year. But in January, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket failed to send nine small satellites into low Earth orbit due to an anomaly during its flight into space. The company in November lowered its goal to launch missions in 2022.

In addition, the company reported a loss of approximately $44 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. It had a cash reserve of about $71 million at the time, down sharply from $122.1 million at the end of June. Virgin Orbit has not announced a date for fourth-quarter results.

The company raised about $10 million last month and $25 million in November from Richard Branson’s investment firm Virgin Investments, which owns a majority stake of about 75 percent.