British billionaire Richard Branson will take Virgin Galactic public by year-end, giving it the much-needed funds to take on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin in the race to space. The company will list its shares as part of a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which will also take a 49% stake in Virgin Galactic for about $800 million, a source who worked on the deal told Reuters. The SPAC deal allows Virgin Galactic to go public sooner, compared with a traditional initial public offering, which the company might have considered in six to nine months following its first commercial flight, the source said.

If a company can grow fast enough for long enough, it can provide its owners tremendous returns.

Shares of Virgin Galactic are poised for takeoff Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, making it the first space tourism company to go public. Shareholders of Chamath Palihapitiya Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. IPOA gave a green light to a merger with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Holdings, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A former top Facebook executive, Palihapitiya will own 49% of the newly merged Virgin Galactic, with Branson controlling the other 51%.

July 9 (Reuters) - Billionaire Richard Branson's space-tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, plans to public by the end of this year as part of a deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) created by venture-capital firms Social Capital and Hedosophia, the companies said on Tuesday. Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings will take a 49% stake in Virgin Galactic. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Palo Alto-based Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. (SCH) and founder Chamath Palihapitiya now own just under half of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc., which entered its first day of trading worth about $2.3 billion.

The company will list its shares as part of a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which will also take a 49% stake in Virgin Galactic for about $800 million, a source who worked on the deal told Reuters. The SPAC deal allows Virgin Galactic to go public sooner, compared with a traditional initial public offering, which the company might have considered in six to nine months following its first commercial flight, the source said. Branson founded space ventures like Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit to cash in on burgeoning demand for space travel and launch services for a boom in the number of smaller satellites.

Virgin Galactic is just the beginning of a broader story in billionaire space race, says one research analyst.

Sir Richard Branson is really excited about taking his space tourism company public. Should you be, too?

British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans a stock market listing by the end of the year, becoming the first space tourism firm to tap public markets for funding. The move will give Branson's venture the much-needed capital in the race to space against rivals such as Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX. The company will list its shares as part of a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, which will take a 49% stake in Virgin Galactic.

Sir Richard Branson's spaceship tourism company Virgin Galactic started trading on the New York Stock Exchange Monday.

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is set to become the first publicly traded space tourism company.

Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. to Begin trading as Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. on Monday By John Jannarone Shares of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., like seats on its commercial spaceships, aren’t for everyone. But for those with the yearning, there’s a smart way to hitch a ride: the company’s publicly-traded warrants. On Monday, Virgin Galactic […]

Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya invested millions in space tourism company Virgin Galactic but this tech pioneer warns everybody about the dangers of social media.

News broke Tuesday that Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's space-tourism venture, will go public. Virgin Galactic won't, however, have a traditional IPO. Instead, a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, which is already publicly traded, will buy part of the company.

A new IPO just entered our orbit, but do the risks of the unknown outweigh the potential for interstellar margins?

U.S. stocks fell Tuesday as investors continued to anticipate that the Federal Reserve would unwind plans to shift policy in a more dovish direction.

Virgin Galactic became the first publicly traded commercial space tourism company with its debut on the New York Stock Exchange today.

Soon, investors will be able to buy stock in the first publicly traded spaceship company, Virgin Galactic.

Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. to Merge with Virgin Galactic Pending Shareholder Vote By John Jannarone and Oliver Estreich One critical factor in the 1960s Space Race was a need for cash, and the same goes for commercial space travel. Ordinary investors now have a chance to supply such capital to fuel Richard Branson’s Virgin […]

Virgin Galactic reported its first results as a public company late Tuesday and announced more customers for its space tourism flights.