Virgin Galactic Stock To Trade On NYSE Monday: Everything You Need To Know

Billionaire Richard Branson’s space tourism company Virgin Galactic's merger with a company of venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya has been approved by shareholders Wednesday, per SEC filings.

This paves way for the listing of Virgin Galactic on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday for trading, per stock market news.

The merger being formalized on Friday will make Virgin Galactic the first human spaceflight company to trade on public markets.

Branson had hinted to CNBC last week that Virgin Galactic’s public debut is coming soon. “It’s not long now,” he quipped.

The merger was announced in July after Palihapitiya’s Social Capital Hedosophia took a 49 percent stake in Virgin Galactic zooming its combined valuation to $1.5 billion. Post-merger, Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson will retain a 51 percent controlling stake in the company.

Ticker symbol to be SPCE

According to the SEC filing, the company expects the merger with Virgin to close on Friday. The shares will trade under the ticker symbol SPCE at the NYSE on Monday.

Palihapitiya’s company already trades on the NYSE, under the ticker IPOA.

Under the deal, existing investors in Galactic will get a combination of SCH stock and cash. Galactic's backers include Branson and his Virgin Group, a UK-based investment company that functions as his private wealth management firm.

Boeing mulls investing in Virgin Galactic

Meanwhile, some reports also said Boeing would invest $20 million in Branson’s Virgin Galactic. Accordingly, Boeing would accept new shares of Virgin Galactic in place of investment by its venture capital wing Boeing HorizonX Ventures.

Galactic is only months away from its first commercial space flight, according to Branson. Its main competitors will include Elon Musk's SpaceX and Blue Origin owned by Amazon's Jeff Bezos.

Signaling the foray into commercial space flights, in February, Virgin Galactic’s rocket plane soared to the edge of space carrying a test passenger for the first time.

Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft can carry six passengers and two pilots to the edge of space. About 600 people have already booked tickets on a Virgin Galactic flight. One ticket costs around $250,000.

Those waiting to fly include Leonardo DiCaprio famous for Leonardo DiCaprio movies like Titanic and Justin Bieber, leading pop star.

Passengers for the space flight will wear specially designed spacesuits made by Under Armour. The rocket-powered spaceflight will travel more than 50 miles into the atmosphere.

During the flight’s peak moments, customers will experience several minutes of weightlessness and can see Earth's curved horizon from the plane's windows and the blackness of outer space.