Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit to go public through a SPAC at $3.7B valuation

Virgin Orbit, the satellite-launching spinoff off of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, is preparing to go public, announcing Monday that it will merge with a SPAC to list on the Nasdaq.

The company is combining with special purpose acquisition company NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, which trades on the Nasdaq under ticker NGCA, until the expected close of the transaction near the end of the year, when the shares will convert to VORB.

The SPAC – co-led by George Mattson and former PerkinElmer chairman and CEO Gregory Summe – values Virgin Orbit at $3.7 billion in equity.

The deal is expected to raise $483 million for Virgin Orbit, including a $100 million PIPE round – or private investment in public equity – raised by investors such as Boeing and private equity firm AE Industrial Partners.

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