Virgin Orbit Comes to the Rescue of a Financially Troubled Company

Instead of letting a company with an excellent track record of space missions die, Virgin Orbit is coming in as a financial partner to keep Sky and Space Global (SAS) up and operational. 

The two got into a deal after releasing a statement back on October 28th, 2020, which listed the share Virgin Orbit will be acquiring from SAS. The company will be buying shares at the set price of 0.14 Australian dollars (AUD) per share and the total percentage would be 14.7% of the company.

However, that is not all. There is an additional incentive for Virgin Orbit to receive the go-ahead to buy 7 million more shares at the set price of 0.40 AUD in three years. Additionally, they are to have their representative operate as an observer on the SAS board of directors.

How Substantial is Virgin Orbit’s Investment?

Despite the openness to the part SAS is handing out to Virgin Orbit, how much the company is investing in SAS is still under lock and key. However, judging from a stock market report released on the same day, it is estimated that SAS plans to sell at least eleven million shares at a set price of 0.20, or 2.2 million AUD.

What the Deal Entails

Sky and Space Global have to retract one of the current plans on a launch estimated to have a fifty-five million AUD market price. Instead, they have a signed deal to run for three years, where Virgin Orbit will be in charge of launching and servicing consultation operations. Each year using that pact is valued at 1 million AUD, translating to 3 million AUD over the whole period.

The partnership is also aimed to get both companies good rapport throughout the industry. If all goes well, at the end of the three-year contract, they will both be at the top of their game.

SAS had failed before seeing a cancelled contract with Gomspace due to a lack of funds, but this deal might be the saving grace. The agreement with Virgin Orbit is awaiting finalisation.