(Reuters) – Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit has hired bankers to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), while seeking a $3 billion valuation, the Wall Street Journal reported https://www.wsj.com/articles/richard-branson-plans-next-spac-deal-this-time-for-virgin-orbit-11615569059 on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Virgin Orbit has hired Credit Suisse Group AG and LionTree LLC, the report said, as the satellite launching company aims for a value ranging from $2.5 billion to over $3 billion.
Virgin Orbit was not immediately available for comment.
The development comes as Branson, a serial entrepreneur and a prolific investor, has raised hundreds of millions through multiple blank-check companies so far.
Earlier this week, Branson-backed blank-check firm Virgin Group Acquisition Corp III said https://www.reuters.com/article/us-virgin-group-acquisition-ipo-idUSKBN2B12UN it was looking to raise as much as $500 million through an initial public offering.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Shailesh Kuber)
