Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit said Boeing will invest in a $ 3.2 billion SPAC listing of a satellite launch startup scheduled for later this year. This investment is because the plane maker’s own space program faces hurdles. Virgin Orbit said it will be listed on the Nasdaq stock market by merging with former Goldman Sachs banker George Mattson and NextGen Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company run by a former senior executive of Carlyle Group Greg Summe.
Boeing’s planned investment, first reported by The Wall Street Journal early Monday, will take place through private investment in public equity, or through a SPAC-related funding round called PIPE. According to Virgin Orbit, the funding resulted in a total commitment of $ 100 million. The company didn’t say how much of it came from Boeing. Boeing did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday morning.
Private equity fund AE Industrial Partners LP will also invest in PIPE, Virgin said. AE Industrial Partners did not immediately return a request for comment at the beginning of Monday.
