Virgin Galactic Completes Merger with Social Capital Hedosophia, Creating the World's First and Only Publicly Traded Commercial Human Spaceflight Company
26.10.2019 01:20:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Virgin Galactic ("VG"), a vertically integrated aerospace company, and Social Capital Hedosophia ("SCH"), a public investment vehicle, today announced the completion of their previously announced business combination. The resulting company is named Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (“VGH”) and its common stock, units and warrants are expected to commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “SPCE”, ”SPCE.U” and “SPCE WS", respectively, on October 28, 2019. The Company manufactures its space vehicles in Mojave, California, through its aerospace development subsidiary The Spaceship Company, with commercial operations centered at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191025005532/en/
(Photo: Business Wire)
VG already has customer reservations from more than 600 people in 60 countries representing approximately $80 million in total collected deposits, and over $120 million of potential revenue. The completion of this merger and trading as a public company are the next milestones on the path towards building a thriving commercial service business and investing appropriately for the future.
George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic Holdings said:
“Today is the start of a new era for the human spaceflight industry. VG has already pioneered several important space milestones, including sending the first test passenger to space onboard a commercial vehicle, and today’s announcement is no different. Now that VG is a publicly traded company, anyone can invest in a human spaceflight company that is striving to truly transform the market and be part of the excitement of the commercial space industry. I am proud of the strong flow of customer deposits and interest we have earned to date, and look forward to making the dream of spaceflight come true for our amazing astronaut customers.”
Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder and CEO of SCH, said:
“Since our founding, SCH set out to unite technologists, entrepreneurs and technology-oriented investors around a shared vision. What was once a pursuit is now a successfully completed mission. We are pleased to have reached today’s monumental milestone and look forward to continuing to work with the Company to transform the commercial space industry.”
Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Galactic, said:
“To fellow investors, employees of VG and The Spaceship Company, business partners and customers – thank you for your commitment to our great company, which has made today’s exciting announcement possible. With our proprietary spaceflight system, special airspace access at Spaceport America, globally-recognized brand and broad investor interest, I believe VG is ideally positioned to capitalize on the fast-growing, multibillion-dollar commercial space market and ultimately open space to thousands of new astronauts. Today, we achieved one mission, and as we bring more and more future astronauts to space, we look forward to the future.”
Transaction Details
As a result of this transaction, Virgin Galactic has received over $450m of primary proceeds and as at market close on Friday 25th October, the business has a market capitalization of $2.3bn. Going forward, existing Virgin Galactic shareholders will own nearly 59%. The Company’s board of directors consists of Chamath Palihapitiya as Chairman, Adam Bain and James Ryans, who were directors of SCH, as well as Wanda Austin, Craig Kreeger, George Mattson, Evan Lovell and George Whitesides.
About Virgin Galactic Holdings
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a vertically-integrated aerospace company pioneering human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers. It believes the commercial exploration of space represents one of the most exciting and significant technology initiatives of our time. It is embarking on this commercial exploration journey with a mission to put humans into space and return them safely to earth on a routine, consistent and affordable basis. Using its proprietary and reusable technologies, and supported by a distinctive, Virgin-branded customer experience, it is developing a spaceflight system designed to offer customers a unique, multi-day experience culminating in a spaceflight that includes several minutes of weightlessness and views of Earth from space. It is in the final stages of development, having already completed multiple crewed flights of its vehicle into space, and anticipates initial commercial launch in 2020.
For downloadable assets please visit our Press FTP https://www.image.net/virgingalactic
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191025005532/en/
Contact information
For media inquiries relating to Social Capital Hedosophia please contact:
Jonathan Gasthalter/Carissa Felger/Nathaniel Garnick
Gasthalter & Co.
+1 (212) 257-4170
SCH@gasthalter.com
For media inquiries relating to Virgin Galactic please contact:
VirginGalacticPress@virgingalactic.com
UK, Middle East, Asia, Africa – Ollie Bailey-Pratt
vg@fticonsulting.com, +44 (203) 727-1000
US, Canada, South America, Australia – Antonia Gray
vg@fticonsulting.com, +1 (347) 574-4352
For Investor Relations inquiries relating to Virgin Galactic please contact:
VirginGalactic-SVC@SARDVERB.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
CORRECTING and REPLACING Yamaha to Acquire Disguise, Expanding Its Capabilities in Integrated Audio, Video, Lighting and Media13.11.2026 19:10:00 EET | Press release
Please replace the release issued Nov. 12, 2026, at 11:00 p.m. PT/Nov. 13, 2026, at 2:00 a.m. ET with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions in the third paragraph. This release has been updated to ensure the accuracy of certain references in the original version. The updated release reads: YAMAHA TO ACQUIRE DISGUISE, EXPANDING ITS CAPABILITIES IN INTEGRATED AUDIO, VIDEO, LIGHTING AND MEDIA Acquisition combines Yamaha’s audio expertise with Disguise’s software and media server technologies Yamaha Corporation today announced an agreement to acquire Disguise Technologies Limited (“Disguise”), a London-based provider of software and media server technologies for live and immersive experiences. Yamaha will acquire the company by purchasing all shares in its parent, Butterfly Topco Limited. The acquisition will expand Yamaha’s capabilities beyond audio into integrated audio, video, lighting and media solutions, in line with its strategy to expand beyond hardware into soft
VELOCIFERO Takes Action Against Counterfeiting in China13.11.2026 18:32:00 EET | Press release
VELOCIFERO is taking action against counterfeiting in China. White s.r.o., the exclusive owner of the VELOCIFERO brand and its related intellectual property rights, has launched decisive measures to protect its creative and industrial assets. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261113797570/en/ Photo courtesy of White s.r.o. “Vehicle sealed in Chongqing as part of actions undertaken to protect VELOCIFERO’s intellectual property rights.” The matter originated in June 2026 when, according to the company’s complaint, computers were removed from the technical office of Taizhou Siweiluo, the company appointed to manufacture VELOCIFERO products. White s.r.o. subsequently became aware of the promotion and sale of vehicles that it believes were produced in violation of its intellectual property rights. White s.r.o. therefore decided to take direct action in China, entrusting the protection of its rights to Shanghai-based
LangChain Raises $300M to Enable Every Company to Own Their Intelligence13.11.2026 17:53:00 EET | Press release
LangChain today announced it has raised $300 million in new funding at a $3 billion valuation, bringing total funding to date to $460 million. The round was led by existing investor CapitalG, with significant participation from new investors GIC and DFJ Growth and existing investors IVP and Sapphire Ventures. LangChain is advancing its mission to help every company own its intelligence. As agents transform the economy, companies are building domain-specific agents differentiated by their knowledge, data, and user experience. These agents will power new products and transform internal company operations, creating lasting competitive advantages for the companies that control them. "Agents are going to transform how companies operate and the products they deliver. The companies that control these systems will build lasting competitive advantages," said Harrison Chase, Co-Founder and CEO of LangChain. "Every company should be free to choose the best models for its needs, control its data a
Kinaxis Named a Leader in Five 2026 IDC MarketScapes for Worldwide Supply Chain Planning13.11.2026 14:00:00 EET | Press release
Kinaxis® Inc. (TSX:KXS), a global leader in end-to-end supply chain planning and orchestration, today announced it has been named a Leader in five 2026 IDC MarketScape vendor assessments for worldwide supply chain planning. The recognition spans the overall market and four industries - discrete industries, process industries, consumer packaged goods and life sciences industries - all served by a single platform, Kinaxis Maestro®, the company's AI-powered supply chain orchestration platform. "Supply chain leaders don't need a better forecast once a month. They need to know what changed this morning, what it means across the business, and what to do about it," said Andrew Bell, Chief Product Officer of Kinaxis. "I believe being named a Leader across five IDC MarketScape vendor assessments, in industries that plan in very different ways, shows that a single concurrent platform is the right foundation for that. Operational orchestration builds on it by connecting planning, decisions and ex
SBC Medical Announces Capital and Business Alliance with NeuroBrain Dynamics to Advance Clinic Profitability Through Medical AI13.11.2026 13:30:00 EET | Press release
SBC Medical Group Holdings Incorporated (Nasdaq: SBC) (“The Company” or “SBC Medical”), a Medical Services Organization (MSO) providing management support across a wide range of healthcare fields, today announced a strategic capital and business alliance agreement with NeuroBrain Dynamics Inc. (“NBD”), a Taipei-based company dedicated to enterprise generative AI solutions. As part of the agreement executed on November 13, 2026, SBC Medical has made a minority equity investment in NBD. Through this alliance, SBC Medical plans to introduce two complementary suites of generative AI solutions across its network of 287 clinics in Japan and overseas*: “revenue-growth AI,” to elevate average revenue per visit and customer retention through personalized customer guidance, and “cost-reduction AI,” to streamline medical documentation, staff scheduling, and promotional workflows. These initiatives are designed to improve per-clinic profitability. Furthermore, SBC Medical has secured priority sale
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom