Virgin Orbit eyes cash lifeline, gets back to work

Richard Branson's Virgin orbit has been in difficulty since the failure of its first attempt to launch satellites from UK soil earlier this year. It had to suspend operations amid a shortage of cash. Now a saviour may have emerged. Texas-based investor Matthew Brown is set to put $200 million into the company via a private share placement. That's according to documents seen by Reuters. The deal is expected to close on Friday. There was no comment on the report from either party.

If confirmed though, it would be a major vote of confidence in Virgin orbit, which has seen its market capitalisation slump. The firm has received extra cash from Branson in recent months, but said it was exploring other options. Shares in the company more than doubled in US pre-market trade following the Reuters report. On Wednesday there were signs that Virgin orbit was getting back to work. The company said it would recall some workers the following day to start preparing for a new mission. Almost all staff had been put on furlough earlier in the month.

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