First we had airlines; now we also have spacelines. Virgin Galactic of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire has been selling space tickets since mid 2005 for $200,000. Now, Virgin Galactic may see some competition from XCOR Aerospace as the California aerospace company also plans to enter the space tourism industry, estimated at over a half-billion dollars. XCOR is building a rocket ship, the Lynx, capable of suborbital flights.
There are some big differences between the Lynx and Virgin's SpaceShipTwo. The Lynx is a two-seat craft while SpaceShipTwo will carry six passengers in addition to two pilots. The Lynx will reach an altitude of 37 miles above the earth and a speed of Mach2, while the SS2 will reach 68 miles and three times the speed of sound. The lynx is expected to start flying in 2010, the SS2 may start as early as 2009. While XCOR has yet to put a price on the flight, it has called it affordable.
There are other differences as well though. Unlike the SS2, which is launched attached to a mothership and is then released at 50,000 feet when it ignites its hybrid rocket to climb to 360,000 feet, the Lynx, about the size of a small private plane, will launch itself, taking off from a runway like any plane, and reach 200,000 feet.
This post is one of several on business heirs apparent. Let us know in the comments whether you think Sam Branson should take up the reigns of Virgin, and be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.
One might say Sam Branson is a fortunate son, born into a life of money, leadership, and rock-and-roll. His father, whimsical billionaire Richard Branson, carries a net worth of $3.8 billion and maintains a fleet of Virgin-branded enterprises. Branson built this umbrella of companies from the ground up starting nearly 40 years ago.
The Virgin brand soared to prominence in the early 1980s as a record label featuring such acts as the Rolling Stones and Janet Jackson. Ahead of the bubble burst for the compact-disc industry, Branson unloaded this arm of the Virgin empire in 1992, focusing on his pet project -- Virgin Atlantic Airways, which launched in 1984.
Other Virgin progeny include pay-as-you-go mobile-phone service Virgin Mobile (sold to NTL for about 1 billion pounds in July 2006) and Virgin Fuels, which seeks to develop environmentally friendly and cheaper fuel sources for automobiles and airplanes.
Branson's sense of adventure, critical in his business ventures, has also taken him into and across the world's oceans. He has broken speed records in both boat and hot-air balloon, and recently boarded an amphibious vehicle to cross the English Channel in record time.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc (NYSE: BUD) and InBev may be one possible coupling in the fast-consolidating brewery industry; the people familiar said the two have already held talks.
HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) yesterday launched its first two retail branches in Japan, according to the Financial Times. The bank also kicked off its "HSBC Premier" services, which aim to tap into Japan's budding market for wealth management.
OTHER PAPERS:
Despite rumors that none of those interested in struggling bank Northern Rock Plc (OTC: NHRKF), the UK Guardian reported that Sir Richard Branson will submit a bid by Monday's government deadline. Investment group Olivant is also expected to submit a bid for Northern Rock.
WEB SITES:
TechCrunch has "gotten word" that Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) will acquire Maven Networks for $150M.
Richard Branson is one of the most innovative, creative billionaires out there, and his latest project provides further evidence of that. Virgin Money USA, which opened for business on Monday, is designed to make it easier to lend money to friends and family more formally. A little bit like Prosper.com, Virgin Money USA will act as a conduit between parties, providing a platform and legal/tax documentation for informal loans.
According to The New York Times, "Virgin Money USA will offer personal and business loans, mortgages and reverse mortgages. The average interest rate for loans is 6 percent, and for mortgages, 5 percent. Borrowers are charged a $9 per payment administrative fee and will pay an upfront charge ranging from $99 for unsecured loans to $2,000 for large mortgages. Borrowers can select terms of their loans, including the duration and rates. The bank will not retain any of the interest."
So technically the loans will be made by Virgin (just as technically Prosper loans are made by Prosper), but the risk will all be held by the friends and family of the borrowers.
The fees ($9 per payment adds up on a small personal loan) make this look like a very questionable move for consumers. And lending money to friends and family is something that should be avoided whenever possible anyway. But in the wake of the subprime meltdown, and the need for emergency loans from friends and family, Virgin Money USA could be well-positioned for success.
Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. (NYSE: VM) launched its IPO right after the open today. Billionaire Richard Branson's pay-as-you-go cellular telecom services that uses the Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) network has raised $412.5 million based on 27,500,000 shares at $15.00 per share, which is actually at the lower end of the $15.00 to $17.00 range. Was the reception poor, or was it conservative?
The lead underwriter and book runner was Lehman Brothers, and joint book-runners were Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns. The over-allotment option for underwriters is listed as 4,125,000 shares. Not much has changed since the original coverage of the IPO at the filing date.
As of June 30, 2007, Virgin claimed 4.83 million customers. Revenues and net loss for the year ended December 31, 2006 were approximately $1.1 Billion and -$36.7 million; Revenues and net income for the six months ended June 30, 2007 were approximately $666.9 million and $26.5 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2007 and December 31, 2006, members' accumulated deficit was approximately $(614.4) million and $(643.9) million, respectively.
It seems as though the interest faded here, and part of it may be the entire venture status combined with a cellular market that is deemed as just about fully matured in the lower-end pricing plans. Shares did trade under the $15.00 pricing for a bit after the open, but are up to $15.40 at the 30-minute mark.
When David Neeleman stepped down as CEO of JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU), the company he founded, the stock rallied. Some speculate that with Neeleman no longer in charge, the airline could be for sale. While anything is possible, I wouldn't get too excited, for a whole bunch of reasons.
First of all, Neeleman is only resigning as CEO. He will stay on as chairman and owns about 6% of the company. So if he doesn't want the company sold, it still probably won't happen. And even if he does, there's still the problem of finding a buyer. While the shares are beaten down, they're still not that cheap by any metric that I can see.
And then there's the reputation of the airline industry. As billionaire Richard Branson has said, "The fastest way to become a millionaire is to start off a billionaire and then buy an airline." Most of the major airlines are emerging from bankruptcy and are probably in no rush to take on a huge amount of debt buying JetBlue.
So while takeover speculation might be fun, it just doesn't really seem justified here.
The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) has pushed into the high-end copier market with two new multi-function color printers.
According to people close to the matter, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways has agreed to but up to 24 of Boeing Company's (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliners, reported the Wall Street Journal.
OTHER PAPERS:
The Economic Times reported that US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH) will invest almost $80M in an Indian special economic zone, or SEZ, and may invest up to $300M in the venture.
According to the Daily Mail, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin is planning on taking on Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) in a air fare war for transatlantic routes.
Nestle SA ADS (OTC: NSRGY) has reportedly placed a bid to acquire India's Mount Everest Mineral Water, according to the Economic Times.
The U.K. Times reported that it has emerged that a key BP plc ADS (NYSE: BP) pipeline has been closed for over six months due to suspected corrosion.
For the last two weeks the average temperature in the region in which I live has failed to rise above a daytime high of 10°F. Our night time lows have stuck around -10°F. I'm sure that it's warm somewhere. I'm also sure that by the time a few of you finish reading this you'll tell me where to go ... to find warmer temperatures.
Ask any first-year student studying meteorology and I'm sure they will tell you that it is an absence of cloud cover which allows climatic heat to escape into the reaches beyond our atmosphere, resulting in cold temperatures. Our planet doesn't heat itself, the sun does. Remove the sun and this planet would become a sphere of rock-solid ice in less than twelve hours, colder than the coldest cold that you have ever imagined. No amount of carbon dioxide gas could save you from freezing into a stiff little peoplecicle.
The greenhouse gang wants you to believe that we are filling the atmosphere with gasses that are holding in heat and threatening to fry me and you. If such is the case, then the meteorologists must be wrong and it's not cloud cover which holds heat down to earth, it's invisible gasses that are doing so. I truly hope the curriculum has been adjusted at all the meteorology schools to reflect this "new truth".
I think that is why British billionaire Richard Branson has offered $25 million for an effective process to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. I think that he's as tired of these scientists running amok as I am. I think he's really setting a trap to catch them in their folly. I submit to you that Richard Branson is demanding that scientists prove that what they've been saying is true. Mr. Branson is not a fool and he knows that if carbon dioxide is indeed the tangible danger that the scientific community is demanding that you and I believe it is, then someone can gather the stuff and bring it to be reviewed by me and you.
That's right: Branson, the Missouri resort-town best-known for all-you-can-eat buffets and family-friendly theaters featuring performers like the Osmonds and Anita Bryant, will now be offering casino gambling. Well, not quite. Actually, mogul of all trades Richard Branson is in negotiations to acquire a site in Macao for a $3 billion dollar casino project.
This announcement comes on the heels of Macau surpassing Las Vegas in gaming revenue. Now, it looks like the former Portuguese enclave (now back under Chinese control) will have its own flamboyant casino mogul to rival Steve Wynn and Donald Trump.
The Department of Transportation today denied Richard Branson's Virgin America's application because the airline didn't have enough American owners. "The department tentatively concludes that Virgin America's close relationship with the U.K.-based Virgin Group indicates that the carrier is not under the actual control of U.S. citizens," the Department of Transportation said in a statement.
Question: Who cares? If the airline is going to provide taxpayers with cheaper airfare, isn't that something the government should support? It makes you wonder who exactly the folks at the Department are working for. One of the key ideas of free market economics is that "voluntary trade creates wealth." If Virgin America is going provide air-travel, and people want to buy it, the federal government shouldn't be standing in the way just because the airline has a "close relationship with the U.K-based Virgin Group."
His official name is Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson. But, of course, he is certainly not stuffy.
He has incredible vision, and tremendous business skills, and he likes to challenge conventional widsom. And the formula has padded his bank account with a net worth in excess of $3 billion.
Now Branson wants to give it away to deal with the challenges of global warming. Over the next 10 years he is going to invest up to $3 billion to attack the problem. The proceeds will come from 100% of profits from a variety of his businesses at Virgin.
Basically, he will focus on renewable energy systems and technologies.
I'm sure Branson's email inbox is overflowing right now with pitches. With soaring oil prices, there has been an influx of startup companies trying to find ways to provide alternative energy approaches. This should also be good news for the long-term prospects of ethanol companies such as VeraSun (VSE) and Pacific Ethanol (PEIX), which has Microsoft's Bill Gates as an investor.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.
Richard Branson has never been afraid of big ideas, or standing outside the CW, with businesses like Virgin Galactic. It may have taken him a while to come around to the evidence of global warming, but now that he has, he is using his new-found belief to create another business based on innovation: Virgin Fuel. In a recent Interview with Business 2.0, Branson talked about his new awareness of long-term climate changes and his new enterprise to develop a super fuel -- clean burning and, he hopes, very profitable. Branson plans to invest "something like $1 billion in alternative fuels" across the board through the end of this decade. But Virgin Fuel is something else. He's cautiously mum on the details, noting only that it will be a "clean burning" but non-ethanol-base fuel, but he's not cautious about his expectations, predicting the new fuel will not only fly Virgin's jets, but also predicting the fuel "will work in cars and trucks and trains within a year." And I admit to salivating when he talks this way.
Will Virgin Fuel become the next Virgin Records, or will it become the next Virgin Brides?
(Disclosure: I have no financial interests or involvement with Virgin.)
First we had airlines; now we also have spacelines. Virgin Galactic of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire has been selling space tickets since mid 2005 for $200,000. Now, Virgin Galactic may see some competition from XCOR Aerospace as the California aerospace company also plans to enter the space tourism industry, estimated at over a half-billion dollars. XCOR is building a rocket ship, the Lynx, capable of suborbital flights.
One might say Sam Branson is a fortunate son, born into a life of money, leadership, and rock-and-roll. His father, whimsical billionaire Richard Branson, carries a 
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The Department of Transportation
Richard Branson has never been afraid of big ideas, or standing outside the 
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