WASHINGTON — Virgin Orbit has prolonged the deadline for bids as a part of its bankruptcy auction process that the corporate says has attracted interest from dozens of potential bidders.
In a May 12 filing with federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, Virgin Orbit said the corporate, with the agreement of other major parties within the case, has agreed to increase the deadline for final bids by 4 days, from May 15 to May 19. The corporate also postponed the deadline to notify bidders that their bids are considered qualified from May 17 to May 21.
If there are multiple qualified bids for Virgin Orbit or its assets, a bankruptcy auction will happen. That motion has been delayed from May 18 to May 22. A court hearing on the sale, though, stays scheduled for May 24.
The corporate, within the filing, didn’t give a reason for the extension, noting only that the bidding procedures gave the corporate the power to increase those deadlines “of their reasonable discretion” and with appropriate consultation.
The court approved the bankruptcy sale plan May 1. Virgin Orbit sought an “expedited” sale of the corporate, arguing that it might attract interest from each those that considered investing in the corporate before its April 4 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in addition to latest bidders.
Virgin Orbit said May 9 that it had received greater than 30 “indications of interest” in the corporate. It didn’t discover any of them, but noted that “multiple” parties were thinking about buying your complete company, keeping it operating and retaining current employees “in an integrated enterprise.”
“I’m pleased with the number and quality of the indications of interest we’ve received, which we consider reflects the modern ideas and exertions the team has put into the event of this unique system,” Dan Hart, chief executive of Virgin Orbit, said in an announcement. “I sit up for continuing to work with those that have expressed interest and other parties as we approach the ultimate bid deadline.”
Within the hopes that the corporate will remain in business under latest ownership, a minimal staff of about 100 employees has continued preparations for the subsequent LauncherOne launch, which could happen later this 12 months. Virgin Orbit said April 19 it had accomplished the investigation into its previous, failed LauncherOne mission in January, confirming earlier accounts that a dislodged fuel filter caused a premature shutdown of the rocket’s upper stage engine.
A brand new owner, though, would have to handle more fundamental issues that led to the Virgin Orbit’s bankruptcy filing. That features high operating costs and a low launch rate — just two launches a 12 months in 2021 and 2022 — that resulted in severe operating losses, depleting money reserves.
There isn’t a guarantee that the winning bidder would seek to proceed the corporate’s operations. Bidders could as a substitute propose to buy some subset of the corporate’s assets, like its Boeing 747 aircraft, if that maximizes the worth of the deal for creditors.