Virgin Orbit's (VORB) shares are up about 35% in March 22 trading after a report emerged the company had found some capital.
The company, part-owned by billionaire Richard Branson, had been challenged recently by a drop in its market capitalization.
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Virgin Orbit is close to making a deal for a $200 million investment from Matthew Brown, Reuters reported.
Neither Branson's company nor Brown, a Texas-based venture capital investor, commented on the deal, Reuters said. Virgin Orbit did say it would resume operations March 23.
"A deal would be a boost of confidence for the satellite launch company that has been grappling with dwindling cash and mounting losses in recent quarters in a highly competitive market," Reuters said.
"Virgin Orbit's market capitalization slumped to a record low of $150 million on Tuesday from more than $3 billion two years ago when it went public through a blank-check deal," Reuters added.
A recent Virgin Orbit mission failed when its rocket experienced an unexpected problem Jan. 9.
"We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit," the company said at the time, according to Reuters. "We are evaluating the information."
The mission would have made the U.K. the first European country to launch satellites into space.
Virgin Orbit and Matthew Brown are expected to close the deal March 24, Reuters said.
"Small satellites are ushering in a new era of space capabilities -- connecting us across vast distances, stimulating the global economy, and expanding the limits of human knowledge," Virgin Orbit writes on its website. "This rapidly growing industry requires a launch service that is as agile and affordable as the satellites themselves. But until now, there hasn’t been one."
"Enter Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system," it continues. "A rocket that combines proven technology with state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques to propel human curiosity to new heights."
Virgin Orbit is quite different than Branson's other space venture, Virgin Galactic (SPCE). The latter develops commercial spacecraft with a goal of providing suborbital spaceflights to space tourists.
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