Virgin Orbit, the small satellite launch service which is a part of billionaire Richard Branson’s conglomerate, said on Monday it is going public through a merger with a blank-check vehicle in a deal that values it at $3.2 billion.
The deal with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II also includes a private investment in public equity (PIPE) of $100 million, from parties such as Boeing Co and AE Industrial Partners.
Firefly, U.S.-New Zealand startup Rocket Lab, and Branson’s Virgin Orbit are seen as front-runners in a new breed of firms building miniaturized launch systems to cash in on the exponential growth of compact satellites, expected in the coming years.
Blank-check companies, also known as special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), use the capital they raise through an initial public offering to merge with a private firm and take it public.
Virgin Orbit will list on the Nasdaq, post the closing of the merger, under the ticker symbol “VORB”.
