NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] is
investing $20 million in Virgin
Galactic, a vertically integrated human spaceflight company. The
companies will work together to broaden commercial space access and
transform global travel technologies.
"Boeing's strategic investment facilitates our effort to drive
the commercialization of space and broaden consumer access to safe,
efficient, and environmentally responsible new forms of
transportation," said Brian
Schettler, senior managing director of Boeing HorizonX
Ventures. "Our work with Virgin Galactic, and others, will help
unlock the future of space travel and high-speed mobility."
To date, Virgin Galactic has invested $1
billion of capital to build reusable human spaceflight
systems designed to enable significantly more people to experience
and utilize space. In July, the company announced its intent to
become a publicly-listed entity via a business combination with
Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. The Boeing investment will
be in return for new shares in Virgin Galactic and is therefore
contingent on the closing of that transaction, which is expected to
close in the fourth quarter of 2019, and any such investment will
be in the post-business combination company.
This investment brings together two companies with extensive
experience in the space industry. Virgin Galactic is a pioneer of
commercial human space flight and is the first and only company to
have put humans into space in a vehicle built for commercial
service, having built and flown a Mach 3 passenger vehicle. Through
its manufacturing and development capabilities, Virgin Galactic can
design, build, test, and operate a fleet of advanced aerospace
vehicles. Boeing has unsurpassed experience transporting people to
orbit and building and operating large structures in that
challenging environment. A part of every U.S. manned space program,
Boeing serves as NASA's prime contractor for the International
Space Station (ISS) and is preparing the new, reusable, Starliner
space capsule for launch to the ISS.
"This is the beginning of an important collaboration for the
future of air and space travel, which are the natural next steps
for our human spaceflight program," said Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic.
"Virgin Galactic and Boeing share a vision of opening access to the
world and space, to more people, in safe and environmentally
responsible ways."
Boeing Defense, Space & Security President and CEO
Leanne Caret, said "the unique
expertise of our companies stretches from points all around the
world to the deepest reaches of space. Together we will change how
people travel on Earth, and among the stars, for generations to
come."
George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin
Galactic, noted: "we are excited to partner with Boeing to develop
something that can truly change how people move around the planet
and connect with one another. As a Virgin company, our focus will
be on a safe and unparalleled customer experience, with
environmental responsibility to the fore."
Additional information on specific projects to be pursued will
be shared in the future.
B-roll & Images: Press FTP:
https://www.image.net/virgingalactic.
About Boeing
Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading
provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security
systems, and global services. As the top U.S. exporter, the company
supports commercial and government customers in more than 150
countries. Boeing employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and
leverages the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a
legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in
technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in
its people and future growth.
About Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company form 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 two crewed flights of its
vehicle into space, and anticipates initial commercial launch in
2020.
About Social Capital Hedosophia
Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. ("SCH") is a
partnership between the investment firms of Social Capital and
Hedosophia. SCH unites technologists, entrepreneurs and
technology-oriented investors around a shared vision of identifying
and investing in innovative and agile technology companies. To
learn more about SCH, visit
www.socialcapitalhedosophiaholdings.com
Additional Information and Where to Find It
This press release relates to a proposed transaction between
Virgin Galactic and SCH. This document does not constitute an offer
to sell or exchange, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or
exchange, any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities
in any jurisdiction in which such offer, sale or exchange would be
unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the
securities laws of any such jurisdiction. In connection with the
proposed transaction, SCH filed a registration statement on Form
S-4 with the SEC on August 7, 2019.
SCH also will file other documents regarding the proposed
transaction with the SEC. Before making any voting decision,
investors and security holders of SCH are urged to read the
registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus included
therein and all other relevant documents filed or that will be
filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction as
they become available because they will contain important
information about the proposed transaction.
Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the
registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all
other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC
by SCH through the website maintained by the SEC at
www.sec.gov.
The documents filed by SCH with the SEC also may be obtained
free of charge at SCH's website at
http://www.socialcapitalhedosophiaholdings.com/docs.html or upon
written request to 120 Hawthorne Avenue Palo Alto, California 94301.
Participants in Solicitation
SCH and its respective directors and executive officers may be
deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from SCH's
shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction.
Additional information regarding the interests of those persons and
other persons who may be deemed participants in the proposed
transaction may be obtained by reading the proxy
statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction. You may
obtain a free copy of these documents as described in the preceding
paragraph.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of federal securities laws, including with
respect to the proposed investment in Virgin Galactic by Boeing and
the proposed transaction between Virgin Galactic and SCH.
Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other
statements about future events that are based on current
expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks
and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this
communication. You should carefully consider the risks and
uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of SCH's
Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, the
registration statement on Form S-4 discussed above and other
documents filed by SCH from time to time with the SEC. These
filings identify and address other important risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.
Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
Contact:
Boeing Communications
312-544-2002
media@boeing.com
Aleanna Crane
Virgin Galactic Communications
Office: +44 (0) 7395604549
Aleanna.crane@virgingalactic.com
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SOURCE Boeing