Richard Branson sold Virgin Galactic for $300 million

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson has sold a $300 million stake in his space company, the billionaire's first deal since his successful space flight.

Branson sold about 10.5 million shares of Virgin Galactic, or about 4% of the company, according to Bloomberg. The proceeds - $300 million - will go to the development of business in the field of tourism and recreation, as well as to new and existing projects, said a representative of the Virgin Group, which includes Virgin Galactic and many other companies of the businessman. Branson himself now owns 18% of Virgin Galactic.

• The sale of shares was the first time since the suborbital flight of the rocket plane VSS Unity. While the successful launch was a great marketing move for a company with space tourism ambitions, Wall Street's enthusiasm quickly waned as Virgin Galactic's stock fell daily . Now their price is about $25 per share (-3.3%).
• A week ago, Branson announced that new tickets for a brief suborbital flight would cost $450,000 per seat.
• The main "money eater" in the Branson empire is another business from the Virgin family - Virgin Atlantic. The airline's IPO is expected to take place in the fall on the London Stock Exchange.

Find out more

Read more about the business prospects for the Branson project and all space suborbital tourism here . The story of Richard Branson and his path to space exploration is here .