Tuesday, Oct 18, 2011
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Abu Dhabi investment company Aabar Investments has boosted its stake in Virgin Galactic, Virgin Group's commercial spaceline, to 37.8% from 31.8%, according to the prospectus for a planned bond sale by Aabar's parent company.
Aabar--owned by Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co., or IPIC--invested an additional $110 million in Virgin Galactic in July, boosting its stake by 6%, IPIC's preliminary bond prospectus seen by Zawya Dow Jones says. IPIC is wholly-owned by Abu Dhabi's government, for which Aabar has served as a diversified investor.
Aabar and Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group in 2009 announced a strategic partnership under which Aabar would pay $280 million for a 31.8% stake in Virgin Galactic's holding company. At the time, Aabar said the acquisition valued that business at about $900 million. The acquisition was completed in 2010.
In the July 2009 announcement, Aabar also said it had committed $100 million to fund small satellite launch capability, and that it planned to build a spaceport in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
-By Nour Malas, Dow Jones Newswires, +9714 4461689; nour.malas@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
18-10-11 0951GMT
