Lift off! Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic becomes the first space tourism company to hit public markets and sees its shares soar more than 9% in NYSE debut
- The stock opened at $12.01 as shares of Virgin Galactic rose more than 9%
- The company was created from the merger between British billionaire Branson’s Virgin Galactic and former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya
- Branson is racing against Blue Origin, the space business of Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring tourists into space
- Hundreds of people, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and pop star Justin Bieber, have paid or put down deposits to fly on one of Virgin’s suborbital flights
Richard Branson-backed Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, becoming the first space tourism company to hit public markets.
The stock opened at $12.01 and rose more than 9%.
The company was created from the merger between British billionaire Branson’s Virgin Galactic and former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya’s publicly-traded shell company, which invested $800 million for a 49% stake.
Merging with an already-public company allowed Branson’s space venture to sidestep the traditional initial public offering process, including filing extensive paperwork with the U.S. SEC.
Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, poses for a photo outside the New York Stock Exchange as fireworks are exploded before his company’s IPO on Monday
Richard Branson-backed Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, becoming the first space tourism company to hit public markets
The listing comes during a dry spell for IPOs following failed attempts including office-share startup The We Company and disappointing debuts such as fitness startup Peloton Interactive Inc.
Branson, with a 51% stake, retains control of the company which had a market cap of $2.3 billion following the announcement of the merger completion on Friday. Palihapitiya is chairman of the combined company.
Branson is racing against competitors Blue Origin, the space business of Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring tourists into space.
He said of the listing: ‘If the public want to dabble a little bit in a spaceship company, own a little bit of a spaceship company, they can now do so.’
Hundreds of people from 60 countries, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and pop star Justin Bieber, have paid or put down deposits to fly on one of Virgin’s suborbital flights.
CEO George Whitesides said: ‘Virgin Galactic is making history again today as it becomes the world’s first and only publicly traded commercial human spaceflight company.
‘For the first time, anyone will have the opportunity to invest in a human spaceflight company that is transforming the market.’
Some of Virgin Galactic’s ticket holders have been waiting over 14 years for their trip.
A 90-minute flight, which allows passengers to experience a few minutes of weightlessness, costs about $250,000.
Virgin’s current reservations represent about $80 million in total collected deposits and $120 million of potential revenue.
The company has attracted a $20 million investment from Boeing Co to commercialize space. Earlier this month, the company announced spacewear for passengers developed in collaboration with sportswear maker Under Armour Inc.