Richard Branson advances the science of SPAC holes

Virgin Orbit Holdings

04/04/2023 17:33

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are his own.)
    By Robert Cyran
       NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Virgin
Orbit, one of more than a dozen space-related outfits to go
public since 2019, mostly by way of shell companies, has
declared bankruptcy. On average, these stocks have lost 75% of
their market value. Rapid incineration of capital means plenty
of others will flame out too.
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    CONTEXT NEWS 
    Virgin Orbit said on April 4 it had filed for bankruptcy
protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of
Delaware. Virgin Investments, a unit of Richard Branson’s Virgin
Group, will provide $32 million of debtor-in-possession
financing while the company seeks a buyer.
    Virgin Orbit, which makes rockets that can deliver
satellites into space, went public via a merger with special
purpose acquisition company NextGen Acquisition Corp II in
December 2021. The deal valued the company at $3.2 billion.
Virgin Orbit was spun off from Branson’s space tourism firm
Virgin Galactic in 2017.
    More than a dozen satellite and space-related companies have
started trading on U.S. public markets since 2019. On average,
their stocks are down about 75% from their closing prices on the
first day of trading, according to Breakingviews calculations.  

 (Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb and Amanda Gomez)
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