Richard Branson to Sell 25 Million Shares in Virgin Galactic to Battle Pandemic Impact

Richard Branson to Sell 25 Million Shares in Virgin Galactic to Battle Pandemic Impact
Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Galactic poses before ringing the First Trade Bell to commemorate the company's first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City on Oct. 28, 2019. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)
Reuters
5/12/2020
Updated:
5/12/2020

Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Group said on Monday that it may sell up to 25 million shares of space tourism company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc to raise funds amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said it intends to use the proceeds to support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday, and travel businesses that have been affected by the impact of CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus.

Shares of Virgin Galactic, which have gained 69 percent this year, were down 3.1 percent at $19.54 in afternoon trade.

Based on the closing price on May 8, the offering would raise as much as $504.5 million.

The company, which aims to offer the first commercial space flight later this year, said in April it would keep running as a critical infrastructure business during the pandemic.

By Sanjana Shivdas
Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.