Richard Branson, through the Virgin Group, authorized the sale of part of his stake in Virgin Galactic, as a way to increase his investment funds for airlines, which are in difficulty at the moment.
Details of the plan to offer and sell, through Virgin Group's subsidiary Vieco 10, up to 25 million shares of Virgin Galactic common stock were published in a filing filed today with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Virgin Galactic's share price closed May 8 at just over $20, putting the value of the stake put up for sale in the offering at around $500 million.
“Virgin intends to use any proceeds to its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that have been impacted by the unprecedented impact of Covid-19”, says the Virgin Group in a statement.
In this way, Branson will be able to offer financial assistance to companies that he owns, such as Virgin Atlantic (51%) and Virgin Australia (10%).
Branson previously applied for government for Virgin Atlantic to survive the crisis, but still faces an ime to receive funds from the UK in the form of a loan.
Meanwhile, in Virgin Australia there is no expectation of the company receiving a state loan, unlike Qantas.
Part of the US$ 500 million is also expected to be directed towards other Virgin Group divisions focused on travel and tourism.
