On the Foreign Scene
Following the failing to secure the funding needed to recover from a January rocket failure, Virgin Orbit has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States.
Virgin Orbit, which is 75% owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, lodged the filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeking a sale of its assets.
It listed assets of about $243m and its total debt at $153.5m as of 30 September.
Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart said that the team at Virgin Orbit has developed and brought into operation a new and innovative method of launching satellites into orbit, introducing new technology and managing great challenges and great risks along the way as they proved the system and performed several successful space flights, including successfully launching 33 satellites into their precise orbit.
He said that while they have taken great efforts to address their financial position and secure additional financing, they ultimately must do what is best for the business.
He expressed belief that the cutting-edge launch technology that the team has created will have wide appeal to buyers as they continue in the process to sell the company while they identify and finalise an efficient and value-maximising sale.
The aim of Chapter 11 is to allow for the reorganisation of a struggling company, aimed at keeping the business alive and paying creditors over time.
Just last week, California-based Virgin Orbit said it was laying off 85% of its 750 staff and ceasing operations for the foreseeable future.
That decision came after the company aborted the UK’s first satellite launch from Cornwall in January, blaming an anomaly.
Based on Monday’s closing price, Virgin Orbit had a market value of $65m based on Monday’s closing price, down from more than $3bn two years ago.
