Share
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a failed mission this year and increasing difficulty in raising funding for future missions.
The company laid off most of its staff on Friday and told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in a filing Monday that it was looking to sell its assets.
Virgin Orbit said that it has secured $31.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Branson’s Virgin Investments Ltd.
Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said that once the financing is approved by the bankruptcy court, the funds are expected to provide Virgin Orbit with the necessary liquidity to continue operating as it attempts to sell the company.
“While we have taken great efforts to address our financial position and secure additional financing, we ultimately must do what is best for the business,” Hart said.
The Long Beach, California, company said in its bankruptcy filing that it has between 200 and 999 estimated creditors. It had approximately $243 million in total assets and $153.5 million in total liabilities as of Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing.
Last week Virgin Orbit said that it was cutting 675 jobs, about 85% of its workforce. Shortly before the announcement, the company said that it was pausing all operations amid reports of possible job cuts. At the time Virgin Orbit confirmed that it was putting all work on hold, but didn’t say for how long.
In January, a mission by Virgin Orbit to launch the first satellites into orbit from Europe failed after a rocket’s upper stage prematurely shut down. It was a setback in the United Kingdom which had hoped that the launch from Cornwall in southwest England would mark the beginning of more commercial opportunities for the U.K. space industry.
The company said in February that an investigation found that its rocket’s fuel filter had become dislodged, causing an engine to become overheated and other components to malfunction over the Atlantic Ocean.
Virgin Orbit, which is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, was founded in 2017 by British billionaire Branson to target the market for launching small satellites into space. Its LauncherOne rockets are launched from the air from modified Virgin passenger planes, allowing the company to operate more flexibly than using fixed launch sites.
Shares of Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc., which traded above $10 about two years ago, tumbled 24% before the opening bell Tuesday, to about 15 cents.
RELATED TOPICS:
Fresno Police Arrest Man in Stolen Vehicle After Foot Chase, Seize Body Armor and Handgun
13 hours ago
Westlands Voters Back Board Incumbents to Handle Ag’s Big Challenges
14 hours ago
MSNBC Hits Two-Decade Ratings Low Amid Trump Victory and Network Turmoil
15 hours ago
Democrats Frustrated Over Joe Biden Reversing Course and Pardoning His Son
15 hours ago
Killer Escapes in Delano. Residents Urged to Be Vigilant.
15 hours ago
Kash Patel’s Threat to the Rule of Law
16 hours ago
Top Democrats Vow to Make California Affordable Again
16 hours ago
This Disgraceful Pardon Is President Biden’s Final Feeble Act
17 hours ago
Director of ‘2000 Mules’ Acknowledges the Conspiratorial Film Was Flawed