Virgin Orbit enters $17 million 'stalking horse' bid to sell aircraft assets (updated)

Virgin Orbit Holdings

17/05/2023 06:06

(Adds details from court filing, background on Virgin Orbit and
Stratolaunch)
       May 16 (Reuters) - Bankrupt satellite launch company
Virgin Orbit said on Tuesday it entered into a "stalking horse"
agreement with Stratolaunch to sell mainly its aircraft assets,
including the "Cosmic Girl" carrier aircraft, for $17 million in
cash.
    A stalking horse bid is used as a starting bid or minimally
accepted offer that other interested bidders must surpass if
they want to buy the asset or company.
    In a court filing, Virgin Orbit said the bid does not
prevent going concern bidders from making bids for all its
assets, including the ones Stratolaunch is bidding for.
        The company said the bankruptcy marketing process has
also generated considerable interest in its assets other than
carrier aircraft. The deadline to submit bids for its assets is
12 p.m. ET (1600 GMT) on May 19.
  
        Virgin Orbit, founded by billionaire Richard Branson,
filed for 
    Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
     in April after the company struggled to secure long-term
funding following a 
    failed satellite launch
     in January.
  
        The company, which was spun off from space tourism firm
Virgin Galactic  SPCE.N  in 2017, sends satellites into orbit
using rockets launched from a modified Boeing  BA.N  747.
  
        Stratolaunch was founded by late billionaire and
Microsoft Corp  MSFT.O  co-founder Paul Allen and has conducted
several tests of its aircraft designed to carry
air-launch-to-orbit rockets and hypersonic vehicles.
  

 (Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim
Coghill and Gerry Doyle)
 ((Shubham.Kalia@thomsonreuters.com;))