Virgin Orbit sinks as financing efforts falter, company resumes operational pause

Virgin Orbit (VORB) sinks as financing efforts falter, company resumes operational pause

By Vlad Schepkov

Shares of Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:) are extending losses in premarket Tuesday, down an additional 15% after tumbling over 33% on Monday, as the company failed to secure a financing deal and announced it is resuming the pause in operations.

The struggling aerospace company’s  over a $200M lifeline investment, first rumored early last week, appears to have fallen through after missing the original closure deadline of last Friday. A CNBC source familiar with the matter said “as of Saturday those discussions had ended.”

Additionally, CNBC also reported “talks with a different potential buyer broke down on Sunday night.”

Failing to secure an investment, Virgin Orbit has resumed its unpaid pause in operations, the company’s CEO Dan Hart reportedly told employees in an internal email. Virgin Orbit first entered an ‘operational pause’ to conserve cash on March 15th, but later said it would resume operations on March 23rd, as financing talks progressed.

The CEO reiterated that “investment discussions have been very dynamic over the past few days, they are ongoing,” although added they’re “not yet at a stage where we can provide a fulsome update.”

VORB shares are currently trading at $0.46, down nearly 50% from the $0.90 level, where they stood as of close last Friday.