Virgin Group’s billionaire founder Richard Branson has bought a stake in space tech fund Seraphim Space Investment Trust, the first venture capital fund, focused on the space sector, as part of a 178 million-pound ($246.99 million) initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Seraphim did not disclose the size of Branson’s stake in the venture capital firm.
Airbus SE also participated in the IPO and was among other parties to buy shares of the company, according to an emailed statement by Seraphim, which is set to commence trading this week on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The exact amount of those stakes was not disclosed by Seraphim. Bloomberg reported earlier on Monday that Branson had purchased stock in London-based Seraphim in a sale that closed on Friday.
The British billionaire, who runs a conglomerate of businesses bearing the “Virgin” brand name including Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Galactic, has a real-time net worth of $5.4 billion as of July 13, 2021, according to Forbes estimates.
Branson’s investment
Branson bought the shares in the space investment-focused fund in a sale that closed Friday, Bloomberg quoted Will Whitehorn, Seraphim’s Chairman, as saying in an interview. But he declined to disclose the size of the billionaire’s investment in the fund. European aerospace giant Airbus also participated in the IPO and is among other investors to buy a stake in the British venture capital fund, a Reuters report said, citing a Seraphim statement.
Seraphim said in a regulatory filing Monday that the IPO was oversubscribed, with demand exceeding the original target of $208 million. The British closed-ended investment firm, which is set to commence trading Wednesday on the LSE’s main market, said that the proceeds of the offering would be used to shore up existing stakes in 19 fledgling businesses, said a Bloomberg report.
“Space is now “open for business” and no longer just the preserve for billionaires. Seraphim Space Investment Trust is aiming to back the next generation of space entrepreneurs who are looking to harness the infinite potential of space to help solve some of our world’s most pressing problems,” said Mark Boggett, CEO of Seraphim, in the statement.
Space race
The investment by Branson comes at a time when his space travel firm Virgin Galactic Holdings has moved a step closer to commence space tourism after the billionaire and his crew flew over 80 kilometers above the Earth’s surface—beating out fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, whose companies Blue Origin and SpaceX, respectively, have similar space ambitions.
Bezos announced last month that he would go to space on July 20 2021 while Musk’s SpaceX— that won a NASA contract to carry cargo into space —also plans to launch space tourism flights. Virgin Galactic filed to sell up to $500 million in stock to investors Monday and the company said it plans to use net proceeds from the offering to develop its spaceship fleet, improve infrastructure, and “co-develop, acquire or invest” in products that are “complementary” to its business.
Founded in 2004, Virgin Galactic went public in 2019. The spaceship firm, which plans to take customers into suborbital space for $250,000, reportedly said that as many as 600 have already paid their deposit ahead of its first spaceflight early next year.
