Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:VORB) could just have staved off any ‘Houston we have a problem’ headlines, as it reportedly closes in on securing a £200mln lifesaving investment from Texas-based venture capitalist Matthew Brown.
New funding could provide a lifeline for Richard Branson’s satellite launching company, which was forced to seize operations and furlough staff last week as financial woes grew.
Brown is set to invest via a private share placement, according to documents seen by Reuters, with the deal potentially being closed as early as Friday.
He would then be able to convert the US$200mln worth of preferred shares into common stock based on the average price in the 30 days running up to the deal, gaining voting rights in the company currently 75% owned by Branson's holding firm Virgin Investments.
Virgin Orbit is also set to recall a small number of staff on Thursday to restart work upgrading its rocket system, which suffered a fault during an attempted launch from the UK in January.
It had begun drawing up detailed contingency plans for insolvency with multiple restructuring firms, preparing for a case in which it failed to secure extra funding.
Its shares rose 2.3% in pre-market trading on the news to US$0.45.