Sir Richard Branson to sell $500m of Virgin Galactic stake to prop up other firms
Sir Richard Branson is set to sell up to $500m shares in space tourism firm Virgin Galactic in order to prop up his other businesses, company filings published today showed.
According to a submission to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Branson will sell up to 25m shares in the company.
At Friday’s close of trading, shares were worth $20.18 a share, giving a total price for the sale of $504.5m.
An accompanying statement said that “Virgin intends to use any proceeds to support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of COVID-19”.
The announcement comes after it was reported that numerous investors were circling embattled carrier Virgin Atlantic, which is seeking a £500m bailout from the UK government.
According to the Times, prospective investors include Cerberus Capital Management, Centerbridge Partners, Apollo Global Management and Greybull Capital.
Branson has been vocal in his belief that the airline will require a government loan to survive the current crisis, which has seen a total collapse in passenger demand.
The billionaire business has even put up his private island in the British Virgin Islands as security against any loan.
However, the UK government has been reticent to give out financial assistance to any airline until they have proved that all other means of raising money have been exhausted.
Atlantic’s sister airline, Virgin Australia, has already been forced into administration due to the collapse in air travel.
The industry received a further blow yesterday when Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the government would soon introduce quarantine measures on anyone entering the UK.
Industry representatives said that the measure would further hurt carriers, with IAG boss Willie Walsh saying it would definitely make the situation “worse”.