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Branson sells $300m space business stake to support Virgin Atlantic

Government
Will Payne
16 August 2021

Sir Richard Branson has sold a $300 million stake in Virgin Galactic to raise more funds to prop up Virgin Atlantic and other businesses impacted by the pandemic, according to reports. 

It is the third time Branson has soled a large tranche of shares in his space tourism company since it joined the New York stock exchange in 2019

This is the third time Branson has sold a large trance of shares in his space tourism company. He sold $505 million worth in May 2020 and $150 million in April this year. He still holds around 46 million shares worth $1.2 billion.

According to The Guardian, parent group Virgin Atlantic said in a statement that it intends to use the net proceeds from the sale to "support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that continue to be affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic".