Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. has told interested buyers to submit bids in the next three weeks to purchase the failed satellite launch company, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and laid off 671 employees — 87% of its workforce – earlier this month.
Last week, the Long Beach, Cali.-based company has its shares delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York. Virgin Orbit’s stock VORBQ, -11.43% had continually dropped in the months before the company filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggled to secure funding to continue operations.
According to its proposal filed with a bankruptcy court in Delaware, potential buyers have until May 4 to show interest and May 14 to submit a formal bid, according to the Washington Post and other media reports.
Dan Hart, Virgin Orbit chief executive, told the Post that the company has been in “a lot of discussions” with potential buyers. When asked if he was confident a rescue plan would happen, he said: “We’ll see how that works out. But that’s my objective.”
The company was spun off of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holdings going public via a SPAC merger in December 2021. Shares of Virgin Galactic SPCE, -0.83% have been pressured by Virgin Orbit’s struggle, slumping 31% in the last three months. Branson is the largest shareholder for both companies.
“We continue to make progress and remain focused on positioning the company to complete our sale process to the benefit of all stakeholders,” said Hart. “We expect the filing of the plan and disclosure statement will help us to efficiently conclude the Chapter 11 process once we have completed the sale.”
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