Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this section to the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our” refer to the business of the VG Companies and their subsidiaries prior to the consummation of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination and Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries after consummation of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination. Prior to the Virgin Galactic Business Combination and prior to the series of Vieco 10 reorganization steps, Galactic Ventures, LLC ("GV"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vieco 10, was the direct parent of VG Companies.
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates, and beliefs that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under the “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” sections and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.
The following is a discussion and analysis of, and a comparison between, our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. A discussion and analysis of, and a comparison between, our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 can be found in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.
Overview
We are at the vanguard of a new industry, pioneering the commercial exploration of space with reusable spaceflight systems. We believe the commercial exploration of space represents one of the most exciting and important technology initiatives of our time. This industry has begun growing dramatically due to new products, new sources of private and government funding, and new technologies. Demand is emerging from new sectors and demographics. As government space agencies have retired or reduced their own capacity to send humans into space, private companies are beginning to make crucial inroads into the fields of human space exploration. We have embarked into this commercial exploration journey with a mission to put humans into space and return them safely to Earth on a routine and consistent basis. We believe the success of this mission will provide the foundation for a myriad of exciting new industries.
We are a vertically integrated aerospace company pioneering human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers. Our spaceship operations consist of commercial human spaceflight and flying commercial research and development payloads into space. Our operations also include the design and development, manufacturing, ground and flight testing, and post-flight maintenance of our spaceflight vehicles. We focus our efforts in spaceflights using our reusable technology for human tourism and for research and education. We intend to offer our customers a unique, multi-day experience culminating in a spaceflight that includes several minutes of weightlessness and views of Earth from space. As part of our commercial operations, we have exclusive access to the Gateway to Space facility at Spaceport America located in New Mexico. Spaceport America is the world’s first purpose built commercial spaceport and will be the site of our initial commercial spaceflight operations. We believe the site provides us with a competitive advantage when creating our spaceflight plans as it not only has a desert climate with relatively predictable weather conditions preferable to support our spaceflights, it also has airspace that is restricted for surrounding commercial air traffic that facilitates frequent and consistent flight scheduling.
Our primary mission is to launch the first commercial program for human spaceflight. In December 2018, we made history by flying our groundbreaking spaceship, VSS Unity, to space. This represented the first flight of a spaceflight system built for commercial service to take humans into space. Shortly thereafter, we flew our second spaceflight in VSS Unity in February 2019, and, in addition to the two pilots, carried a crew member in the cabin. We have received reservations for approximately 600 spaceflight tickets and collected more than $80.0 million in future astronaut deposits as of December 31, 2020. Additionally, in February 2020, we launched our One Small Step campaign which allows interested individuals to place a $1,000 refundable registration deposit towards the cost of a future ticket once we reopen ticket sales and, as of December 31, 2020, there were approximately 1,000 participants in our One Small Step program from 66 countries. We retired the "One Small Step" program on December 31, 2020, but plan on reopening ticket sales following Sir Richard Branson's flight expected in 2021. With each ticket purchased, future astronauts will experience a multi-day journey that includes a tour of the spaceport, flight suit fitting, spaceflight training and culminating with a trip to space on the final day.
We have also developed an extensive set of vertically integrated aerospace development capabilities encompassing preliminary vehicle design and analysis, detail design, manufacturing, ground testing, flight testing, and maintenance of our
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spaceflight system. Our spaceflight system consists of three primary components: our carrier aircraft, the mothership; our spaceship, SpaceShip; and our hybrid rocket motor.
SpaceShip is a spaceship with the capacity to carry pilots and future astronauts, or commercial research and development payloads, into space and return them safely to Earth. Fundamentally, SpaceShip is a rocket-powered aerospace vehicle that operates more like a plane than a traditional rocket. SpaceShip is powered by a hybrid rocket propulsion system, which we refer to as "RocketMotor", which propels the spaceship on a trajectory into space. SpaceShip’s cabin has been designed to maximize the future astronaut’s safety, experience and comfort. A dozen windows line the sides and ceiling of the spaceship, offering the future astronauts the ability to view the blackness of space as well as stunning views of the Earth below. Our mothership is a twin-fuselage, custom-built aircraft designed to carry SpaceShip up to an altitude of approximately 45,000 feet where the spaceship is released for its flight into space. Using the mothership's air launch capability, rather than a standard ground-launch, reduces the energy requirements of our spaceflight system as SpaceShip does not have to rocket its way through the higher density atmosphere closest to the Earth’s surface.
Our team is currently in various stages of designing, testing and manufacturing additional spaceships, carrier aircraft and rocket motors in order to meet the expected demand for human spaceflight experiences. Concurrently, we are researching and developing new products and technologies to grow our company.
Our operations also include efforts in spaceflight opportunities for research and education. For example, professional researchers have utilized parabolic aircraft and drop towers to create moments of microgravity and conduct significant research activities. In most cases, these solutions offer only seconds of microgravity per flight and do not offer access to the upper atmosphere or space. Other researchers have conducted experiments on sounding rockets or satellites. These opportunities are expensive, infrequent and impose highly limiting operational constraints. We believe that research experiments will benefit from prolonged exposure to space conditions and yield better results aboard SpaceShip due to the large cabin, gentler flight, relatively low cost, advantageous operational parameters, and frequent flights. As such, researchers and educators are able to conduct critical experiments and obtain important data without having to sacrifice time and resources. Our commitment to advancing research and science was present in our December 2018 and February 2019 spaceflights as we transported payloads into space for research purposes under a NASA flight contract.
We have also leveraged our knowledge and expertise in manufacturing spaceships to occasionally perform engineering services for future astronauts, such as research, design, development, manufacturing and integration of advanced technology systems.
Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe that our performance and future success depend on a number of factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including those discussed below and in the section of this Annual Report on 10-K titled “Risk Factors.”
Impact of COVID-19
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak of COVID-19 as a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures. Since then, extraordinary actions have been taken by international, federal, state, and local public health and governmental authorities to contain and combat the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 in regions throughout the world. These actions have included travel bans, quarantines, "stay-at-home" orders, and similar mandates for many individuals to substantially restrict daily activities and for many businesses to curtail or cease normal operations.
Consistent with the actions taken by governmental authorities, including California, New Mexico and the United Kingdom, where most of our workforce is located, we took appropriately cautious steps to protect our workforce and support community efforts. As part of these efforts, and in accordance with applicable government directives, we initially reduced and then temporarily suspended on-site operations at our facilities in Mojave, California and Spaceport America, New Mexico and in our London office location in late March 2020. Starting late March 2020, approximately two-thirds of our employees and contractors were able to complete their duties from home, which enabled critical work to continue, including engineering analysis and drawing releases for VSS Unity, VMS Eve and the second SpaceShipTwo vehicle, process documentation updates, as well as workforce training and education. The remaining one-third of our workforce was unable to perform their normal duties from home. In April 2020, in accordance with our classification within the critical infrastructure designation, we resumed limited operations under revised operational and manufacturing plans that conform to the latest COVID-19 health precautions.
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Such actions included, although were not limited to, universal facial covering requirements, rearranging facilities to follow social distancing protocols, conducting active daily temperature checks and undertaking regular and thorough disinfecting of work surfaces, tools and equipment. We offered testing to employees and contractors for COVID-19 on a regular basis. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the precautionary actions taken throughout the year 2020 related to COVID-19 have adversely impacted, and are expected to continue to adversely impact, our operations, including the completion of the development of our spaceflight systems and our scheduled spaceflight test programs.
As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, all of our employees whose work requires them to be in our facilities are now back on-site and we continue with our implemented and established strict protocols to ensure employee safety, including enforcing staggered shifts to lower on-site density and re-working communications processes with engineers who are primarily working from home. We have, however, experienced, and expect to continue to experience, reductions in operational efficiency due to illness from COVID-19 and precautionary actions taken related to COVID-19. For the time being, we are encouraging those employees who are able to work from home to continue doing so until case levels are lowered and vaccinations are more readily available.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the protocols and procedures we have implemented in response to the pandemic have caused and continue to cause delays to our business and operations, which has led to accumulated impacts to both schedule and cost efficiency and some delays in operational and maintenance activities, including delays in our test flight program. We expect this to continue well into 2021. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and results of our future operations will depend on future developments, such as the ultimate duration and scope of the outbreak and its impact on our operations necessary to complete the development of our spaceflight systems, our scheduled spaceflight test programs and commencement of our commercial flights. In addition to existing travel restrictions, countries may continue to maintain or reimpose closed borders, impose prolonged quarantines, and/or further restrict travel. We believe our cash and cash equivalents on hand at December 31, 2020 and management's operating plan will provide sufficient liquidity to fund our operations for at least the next twelve months from the issuance of the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. If we experience a significant delay due to our workforce getting ill or if the pandemic worsens, we may take additional actions, such as further reducing costs.
Commercial Launch of Our Human Spaceflight Program
We are in the final phases of developing our commercial spaceflight program. Prior to commercialization, we must complete our test flight program, which includes a rigorous series of ground and flight tests, including our baseline spaceflight metrics, flight paths and safety protocol that will be used throughout our spaceflight program. The final portion of the test flight program includes submission of verification reports to the FAA for their review, which will then allow us to carry paying customers on spaceflights under our existing commercial spaceflight license. However, the timing of the submission may be delayed by multiple factors, some of which are outside of our control, including the current, and uncertain future impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our business. Any delays in successful completion of our test flight program, whether due to the impact of COVID-19 or otherwise, will impact our ability to generate human spaceflight revenue.
Customer Demand
While not yet in commercial service for human spaceflight, we have already received significant interest from potential future astronauts. Going forward, we expect the size of our backlog and the number of future astronauts that have flown to space on our spaceflight system to be an important indicator of our future performance. As of December 31, 2020, we had reservations for SpaceShip flights for approximately 600 future astronauts. In February 2020, we launched our One Small Step campaign which allows interested individuals to place a $1,000 refundable registration deposit towards the cost of a future ticket once we reopen ticket sales and, as of December 31, 2020, we had received approximately 1,000 One Small Step deposits from 66 countries. We retired the "One Small Step" program on December 31, 2020, but plan on reopening ticket sales following Sir Richard Branson's flight expected in 2021.
Available Capacity and Annual Flight Rate
We face constraints of resources and competing demand for our human spaceflights. We expect to commence commercial operations with a single SpaceShip, VSS Unity, and a single mothership carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, which together comprise our only spaceflight system. As a result, our annual flight rate will be constrained by the availability and capacity of this spaceflight system. To reduce this constraint, we are in various stages of designing, testing and manufacturing two additional SpaceShip vehicles as well as an additional mothership carrier. We believe that expanding the fleet will allow us to increase our annual flight rate once commercialization is achieved.
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Safety Performance of Our Spaceflight Systems
Our spaceflight systems are highly specialized with sophisticated and complex technology. We have built operational processes to ensure that the design, manufacture, performance and servicing of our spaceflight systems meet rigorous quality standards. However, our spaceflight systems are still subject to operational and process problems, such as manufacturing and design issues, pilot errors, or cyber-attacks. Any actual or perceived safety issues may result in significant reputational harm to our business and our ability to generate human spaceflight revenue.
Component of Results of Operations
Revenue
To date, we have primarily generated revenue by transporting scientific commercial research and development payloads using our spaceflight systems and by providing engineering services as a subcontractor to the primary contractor of a long-term contract with the U.S. government. We also have generated revenues from a sponsorship arrangement.
Following the commercial launch of our human spaceflight services, we expect the significant majority of our revenue to be derived from sales of tickets to fly to space. We also expect that we will continue to receive a small portion of our revenue by providing services relating to the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems.
Cost of Revenue
Costs of revenue related to spaceflights include costs related to the consumption of a rocket motor, fuel, payroll and benefits for our pilots and ground crew, and maintenance. Cost of revenue related to the engineering services consist of expenses related to materials and human capital, such as payroll and benefits. Once we have completed our test flight program and commenced commercial operations, we will capitalize the cost to construct any additional SpaceShip vehicles. Cost of revenue will include vehicle depreciation once those spaceships are placed into service. We have not capitalized any spaceship development costs to date.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
Gross profit is calculated based on the difference between our revenue and cost of revenue. Gross margin is the percentage obtained by dividing gross profit by our revenue. Our gross profit and gross margin has varied historically based on the mix of revenue-generating spaceflights and engineering services. As we approach the commercialization of our spaceflights, we expect our gross profit and gross margin may continue to vary as we scale our fleet of spaceflight systems.
Selling, General and Administrative
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of human capital related expenses for employees involved in general corporate functions, including executive management and administration, accounting, finance, tax, legal, information technology, marketing and commercial, and human resources; depreciation expense and rent relating to facilities, including a portion of the lease with Spaceport America, and equipment; professional fees; and other general corporate costs. Human capital expenses primarily include salaries, cash bonuses and benefits. As we continue to grow as a company, we expect that our selling, general and administrative costs will increase on an absolute dollar basis.
We incur additional expenses as a result of operating as a public company, including expenses necessary to comply with the rules and regulations applicable to companies listed on a national securities exchange and related to compliance and reporting obligations pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC, as well as higher expenses for general and director and officer insurance, investor relations, and professional services.
Research and Development
Research and development expense represents costs incurred to support activities that advance our human spaceflight towards commercialization, including basic research, applied research, concept formulation studies, design, development, and related testing activities. Research and development costs consist primarily of the following costs for developing our spaceflight systems:
•flight testing programs, including rocket motors, fuel, and payroll and benefits for pilots and ground crew performing test flights;
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•equipment, material, and labor hours (including from third party contractors) for developing the spaceflight system’s structure, spaceflight propulsion system, and flight profiles; and
•rent, maintenance, and depreciation of facilities and equipment and other overhead expenses allocated to the research and development departments.
As of December 31, 2020, our current primary research and development objectives focus on the development of our SpaceShip vehicle, and our for commercial spaceflights and developing our RocketMotor, a hybrid rocket propulsion system that will be used to propel our SpaceShip vehicles into space. The successful development of SpaceShip and RocketMotor involves many uncertainties, including:
•timing in finalizing spaceflight systems design and specifications;
•successful completion of flight test programs, including flight safety tests;
•our ability to obtain additional applicable approvals, licenses or certifications from regulatory agencies, if required, and maintaining current approvals, licenses or certifications;
•performance of our manufacturing facilities despite risks that disrupt productions, such as natural disasters and hazardous materials;
•performance of a limited number of suppliers for certain raw materials and components;
•performance of our third-party contractors that support our research and development activities;
•our ability to maintain rights from third parties for intellectual properties critical to research and development activities;
•our ability to continue funding and maintain our current research and development activities; and
•the impact of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.
A change in the outcome of any of these variables could delay the development of SpaceShips and RocketMotor, which in turn could impact when we are able to commence our human spaceflights.
As we are currently still in our final development and testing stage of our spaceflight system, we have expensed all research and development costs associated with developing and building our spaceflight system. We expect that our research and development expenses will decrease once technological feasibility is reached for our spaceflight systems as the costs incurred to manufacture additional SpaceShip vehicles, built by leveraging the invested research and development, will no longer qualify as research and development activities.
Interest Income
Interest income consists primarily of interest earned on cash and cash equivalents held by us in interest bearing demand deposit accounts.
Interest Expense
Interest expense relates to our finance lease obligations.
Other Income
Other income consists of miscellaneous non-operating items, such as gains on marketable securities and handling fees related to customer refunds.
Income Tax Provision
We are subject to income taxes in the United States and the United Kingdom. Our income tax provision consists of an estimate of federal, state, and foreign income taxes based on enacted federal, state, and foreign tax rates, as adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, uncertain tax positions, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, and changes in tax laws.
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Results of Consolidated Operations
The following tables set forth our results of operations for the periods presented and expresses the relationship of certain line items as a percentage of revenue for those periods. The period-to-period comparisons of financial results is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative expenses 116,592 82,166
Interest expense (36) (36)
Income tax expense 6 62
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019
Revenue
Years EndedDecember 31, $Change %Change
(In thousands, except %)
Revenue decreased by $3.5 million, or 94%, to $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 from $3.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. This decrease is primarily due to decreased engineering services of approximately $2.4 million under long-term U.S. government contracts, a decrease in payload revenue of $0.8 million attributable to the February 2019 payload flown in connection with our testing program, and reduced sponsorship revenue of $0.3 million from an expired agreement.
Cost of Revenue and Gross Profit
Years EndedDecember 31, $Change %Change
(In thousands, except %)
Gross margin 27 % 47 %
Cost of revenue decreased by $1.8 million, or 91%, to $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 from $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in cost of revenue was primarily due to the costs for flying payload in February 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 for which no payload revenue was recorded. The labor costs associated with providing engineering services under long-term U.S. government contracts decreased proportionally
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with the billings. Gross profit decreased by $1.7 million, or 96%, to $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 from $1.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Gross margin for the year ended December 31, 2020 decreased by 20% compared to the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in gross profit and gross margin was primarily driven by smaller gross margins associated with the long-term engineering service contracts.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Years EndedDecember 31, $Change %Change
(In thousands, except %)
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $34.4 million, or 42%, to $116.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 from $82.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. This $34.4 million increase was primarily due to a $19.1 million increase in stock-based compensation expense related to stock-based awards made in connection with the Virgin Galactic Business Combination in the fourth quarter of 2019, as well as other expenses that have increased as a result of being a public company, including increased insurance of $8.1 million related to new directors and officers insurance policies, legal, audit, and other professional fees of $4.8 million and salaries and benefits of $1.5 million.
Research and Development Expenses
Years EndedDecember 31, $Change %Change
(In thousands, except %)
Research and development expenses increased by $25.9 million, or 19%, to $158.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 from $132.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to a $8.4 million increase in stock-based compensation expense related to stock-based awards made in connection with the Virgin Galactic Business Combination in the fourth quarter of 2019. Further drivers related primarily to costs associated with developing our spaceflight system, including increases of $8.4 million in salaries and benefits, $3.3 million in increased facility costs, $1.9 million of insurance and $1.6 million related to increased equipment leases and maintenance.
Interest Income
Years EndedDecember 31, $Change %Change
(In thousands, except %)
Interest income was essentially flat year over year, decreasing by less than $0.1 million, or 1%, to $2.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 from $2.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Interest Expense
Interest expense was immaterial for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
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Other Income
Years EndedDecember 31, $Change %Change
(In thousands, except %)
Other income for the year ended December 31, 2020 decreased by $0.1 million, or 89%, to less than $0.1 million compared to $0.1 million in December 31, 2019, primarily due to net unrealized losses on marketable securities and handling fees related to customer refunds.
Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense was immaterial for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018. We have accumulated net operating losses at the federal and state level as we have not yet started commercial operations. We maintain a substantially full valuation allowance against our net U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets. The income tax expenses shown above are primarily related to minimum state filing fees in the states where we have operations as well as corporate income taxes for our operations in the United Kingdom, which operates on a cost-plus arrangement.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Prior to the consummation of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, our operations historically participated in cash management and funding arrangements managed by V10 and GV. Only cash and cash equivalents held in bank accounts legally owned by entities dedicated to us are reflected in the consolidated balance sheets. Cash and cash equivalents held in bank accounts legally owned by V10 and GV were not directly attributable to us for any of the periods presented. Transfers of cash, both to and from V10 and GV by us have been reflected as a component of net parent investment and membership equity in the consolidated balance sheets and as a financing activity on the accompanying consolidated statements of cash flows.
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of $665.9 million and restricted cash of $13.0 million. For the periods prior to our consummation of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination on October 25, 2019, we have financed our operations and capital expenditures through cash flows financed by V10 and GV. Our principal sources of liquidity following the Virgin Galactic Business Combination have been proceeds received as part of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination and proceeds from our August 2020 public offering of common stock.
As described above, the COVID-19 pandemic and the protocols and procedures we have implemented in response to the pandemic have caused and continue to cause delays to our business and operations. We expect this to continue in 2021, however, the full impact on our future business and results of operations will depend on future developments, such as the ultimate duration and scope of the outbreak and its impact on our operations necessary to complete the development of our spaceflight systems, our scheduled spaceflight test programs and commencement of our commercial flights. In addition to existing travel restrictions, countries may continue to maintain or reimpose closed borders, impose prolonged quarantines, and /or further restrict travel. We believe our cash and cash equivalents on hand at December 31, 2020 and management's operating plan, will provide sufficient liquidity to fund our operations for at least the next twelve months from the issuance of the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Historical Cash Flows
Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Net cash provided by (used in)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 186,234 $ 411,353
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Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $233.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily consisting of $273.0 million of net losses, adjusted for non-cash items, which primarily included depreciation and amortization expense of $9.8 million and stock based compensation expense of $30.3 million, as well as a $0.3 million increase in cash consumed by working capital purposes. The increase in cash consumed by working capital purposes was primarily driven by an increase in certain assets including prepayments and other current assets and related party receivables, as well as a decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities. This increase in cash consumed by working capital was partially offset by a decrease in inventories and an increase in other current and noncurrent liabilities.
Net cash used in operating activities was $209.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, primarily consisting of $210.9 million of net losses, adjusted for non-cash items, which primarily included depreciation and amortization expense of $7.0 million and stock based compensation expense of $2.5 million, as well as a $7.2 million increase in cash consumed by working capital. The increase in cash consumed by working capital was primarily driven by an increase in certain assets including inventories, prepayments and other current assets alongside a decrease in certain liabilities including accounts payable and accrued liabilities. This increase in cash consumed by working capital was partially offset by an increase in certain liabilities including amounts due to related parties, net and customer deposits, alongside a decrease in certain assets including accounts receivable and other noncurrent assets.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $17.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily consisting of purchases of manufacturing equipment, leasehold improvements at the Mojave Air and Space Port facility, purchases of furniture and fixtures, IT infrastructure upgrades and construction activities at the Gateway to Space facility and at spaceflight systems fueling facilities.
Net cash used in investing activities was $13.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, primarily consisting of purchases of manufacturing equipment, leasehold improvements at the Mojave Air and Space Port facility, purchases of furniture and fixtures, IT infrastructure upgrades and construction activities at the Gateway to Space facility and at spaceflight systems fueling facilities.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $436.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 consisting primarily of cash received from the sale and issuance of common stock, offset by withholding taxes paid on behalf of employees related to net-settled stock-based award issuances, professional and other fees related to financing transaction costs.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $634.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 consisting primarily of proceeds of $500.0 million from the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, equity contributions from V10 of $162.4 million and proceeds of $20.0 million from issuance of our common stock, partially offset by issuance costs of $48.0 million incurred in connection with the Virgin Galactic Business Combination.
Funding Requirements
We expect our expenses to increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we continue to advance the development of our spaceflight system and the commercialization of our human spaceflight operations. In addition, we expect cost of revenue to increase significantly as we commence commercial operations and add additional spaceships to our operating fleet.
Specifically, our operating expenses will increase as we:
•scale up our manufacturing processes and capabilities to support expanding our fleet with additional spaceships, carrier aircraft and rocket motors upon commercialization;
•pursue further research and development on our future human spaceflights, including those related to our research and education efforts, supersonic and hypersonic point-to-point travel;
•hire additional personnel in research and development, manufacturing operations, testing programs, and maintenance as we increase the volume of our spaceflights upon commercialization;
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•seek regulatory approval for any changes, upgrades or improvements to our spaceflight technologies and operations in the future, especially upon commercialization;
•maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio; and
•hire additional personnel in management to support the expansion of our operational, financial, information technology, and other areas to support our operations as a public company.
Although we believe that our current capital is adequate to sustain our operations for a period of time, changing circumstances may cause us to consume capital significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to spend more money than currently expected because of circumstances beyond our control. Additionally, we are in the final phases of developing our commercial spaceflight program. While we anticipate initial commercial launch with a single SpaceShip, we currently have two additional SpaceShip vehicles under construction and expect the direct costs to complete these two vehicles to be in the range of $35 million to $55 million. We anticipate the costs to manufacture additional vehicles will begin to decrease as we continue to scale up our manufacturing processes and capabilities. Until we have achieved technological feasibility with our spaceflight systems, we will not capitalize expenditures incurred to construct any additional components of our spaceflight systems and continue to expense these costs as incurred to research and development.
The commercial launch of our human spaceflight program and the anticipated expansion of our fleet have unpredictable costs and are subject to significant risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, that may affect the timing and magnitude of these anticipated expenditures. Some of these risk and uncertainties are described in more detail in this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the heading Item 1A. “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business.”
Commitments and Contingencies
The following table summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020.
Payments Due by Periods
Total <1year 1-3years 3-5years >5years
(In thousands)
Obligations under Notes payable2 620 $ 310 $ 310 $ — $ —
________________________________
1We are a party to operating leases primarily for land and buildings (e.g., office buildings, warehouses and spaceport) and certain equipment (e.g., copiers) under non-cancelable operating and finance leases. These leases expire at various dates through 2065.
2 Notes payable relate to a secured loan obtained in June, 2020, to finance the purchase of software licenses. The loan is payable in annual installments, with the final payment due on October 1, 2022. See footnote 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not engage in any off-balance sheet activities or have any arrangements or relationships with unconsolidated entities, such as variable interest, special purpose, and structured finance entities.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures requires us to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We believe that the estimates, assumptions and judgments involved in the accounting policies described below have the greatest potential impact on our financial statements and, therefore, we consider these to be our critical accounting policies. Accordingly, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions. Please refer to
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Note 2 in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information about these critical accounting policies, as well as a description of our other significant accounting policies.
Inventories
Inventories consist of raw materials expected to be used for the development of the human spaceflight program and customer specific contracts. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. If events or changes in circumstances indicate that the utility of our inventories have diminished through damage, deterioration, obsolescence, changes in price or other causes, a loss is recognized in the period in which it occurs. We determine the costs of other product and supply inventories by using the first-in first-out or average cost methods. Our status of pre-technical feasibility means that material issued from inventory into production of our vehicles, labor charges and overhead charges are charged to R&D expense.
Research and Development
We conduct research and development activities to develop existing and future technologies that advance our spaceflight system towards commercialization. Research and development activities include basic research, applied research, concept formulation studies, design, development, and related test program activities. Costs incurred for developing our spaceflight system and flight profiles primarily include equipment, material, and labor hours. Costs incurred for performing test flights primarily include rocket motors, fuel, and payroll and benefits for pilots and ground crew. Research and development costs also include rent, maintenance, and depreciation of facilities and equipment and other allocated overhead expenses. We expense all research and development costs as incurred. Once we have achieved technological feasibility, we will capitalize the costs to construct any additional components of our spaceflight systems.
Income Taxes
We record income tax expense for the anticipated tax consequences of the reported results of operations using the asset and liability method. Under this method, we recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax basis of assets and liabilities, as well as for operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the tax rates that are expected to apply to taxable income for the years in which those tax assets and liabilities are expected to be realized or settled. We record valuation allowances to reduce our deferred tax assets to the net amount that we believe is more likely than not to be realized. Our assessment considers the recognition of deferred tax assets on a jurisdictional basis. Accordingly, in assessing its future taxable income on a jurisdictional basis, we consider the effect of our transfer pricing policies on that income. We have placed a valuation allowance against U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets since the recovery of the assets is uncertain.
We recognize tax benefits from uncertain tax positions only if we believe that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities based on the technical merits of the position. As we grow, we will face increased complexity in determining the appropriate tax jurisdictions for revenue and expense items. We adjust these reserves when facts and circumstances change, such as the closing of a tax audit or refinement of an estimate. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will affect the income tax expense in the period in which such determination is made and could have a material impact on our financial condition and operating results. The income tax expense includes the effects of any accruals that we believe are appropriate, as well as the related net interest and penalties.
We have not yet started commercial operations and as such we are accumulating net operating losses at the federal and state levels, which are reflected in the income tax provision section of the balance sheet. The presented income taxes in these statements are primarily related to minimum state filing fees in the states where we have operations as well as corporate income taxes for our operations in the United Kingdom, which operates on a cost-plus arrangement and therefore incurs income tax expenses.
Stock-Based Compensation
In connection with the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, our board of directors and stockholders adopted the 2019 Incentive Award Plan (the "2019 Plan"). Pursuant to the 2019 Plan, up to 21,208,755 shares of common stock have been reserved for issuance to employees, consultants and directors. Please refer to Note 13 in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information regarding stock-based compensation.
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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Please refer to Note 3 in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a description of recently adopted accounting pronouncements and recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
We have operations within the United States and the United Kingdom and as such we are exposed to market risks in the ordinary course of our business, including the effects of interest rate changes and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Information relating to quantitative and qualitative disclosures about these market risks is set forth below.
Interest Rate Risk
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash consist solely of cash held in depository accounts and as such are not affected by either an increase or decrease in interest rates. We consider all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less as cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2020, we had $679.0 million deposits held primarily in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, which includes $651.6 million in cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are short term investments and would not be significantly impacted by changes in the interest rates. We believe that a 10% increase or decrease in interest rates would not have a material effect on our interest income or expense.
Foreign Currency Risk
The functional currency of our operations in the United Kingdom is the local currency. We translate the financial statements of the operations in the United Kingdom to United States Dollars and as such we are exposed to foreign currency risk. Currently, we do not use foreign currency forward contracts to manage exchange rate risk, as the amount subject to foreign currency risk is not material to our overall operations and results.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The financial statements required by this Item are included in Item 15 of this report and are presented beginning on page F-1 and are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
As previously reported on our Form 10-K, dated February 26, 2020, upon the approval of the audit committee of our board of directors, Marcum LLP (“Marcum”) was dismissed as our independent registered public accounting firm, and KPMG LLP (“KPMG”) was engaged as our independent registered public accounting firm effective November 12, 2019.Marcum served as our independent registered public accounting firm since May 5, 2017, our inception as Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp., whereas KPMG served as the independent registered public accounting firm for Galactic Enterprises, LLC (formerly Virgin Galactic, LLC), Galactic Co., LLC (formerly TSC, LLC), Virgin Galactic (UK) Limited and their respective subsidiaries (collectively, the “Virgin Galactic Business”) prior to the consummation of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination. The audit committee decided to engage KPMG because, for accounting purposes, our historical financial statements include a continuation of the financial statements of the Virgin Galactic Business.
Marcum’s report on our financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and for the period from May 5, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2017 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor were such reports qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles. During the period of Marcum’s engagement and the subsequent interim period preceding Marcum’s dismissal, there were no disagreements with Marcum on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Marcum, would have caused it to make a reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in connection with its reports covering such periods. In addition, no “reportable events,” as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K, occurred within the period of Marcum’s engagement and the subsequent interim period preceding Marcum’s dismissal.
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Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Background and Remediation of Material Weakness
In connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we, and our independent registered public accounting firm, determined that we had two material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.
The first material weakness related to a lack of a sufficient number of personnel to execute, review and approve all aspects of the financial statement close and reporting process. The second material weakness arose from the need to augment our information technology and application controls in our financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, management completed the implementation and testing of internal controls over financial reporting to remediate these material weaknesses. Specifically, management completed the following remediation actions to ensure control deficiencies that contributed to the material weaknesses are remediated:
•We hired qualified staff and outside resources to segregate key functions within our financial and information technology processes supporting our internal controls over financial reporting.
•We implemented a training program addressing internal control over financial reporting, including educating control owners regarding the requirements of each control.
•We developed internal controls documentation, including comprehensive accounting policies and procedures and designed, implemented, and tested new controls over key financial processes.
•We developed information technology general controls documentation, designed, implemented, and tested new controls including application configurable controls over the primary systems supporting the key financial processes.
•We designed, implemented, and tested information technology controls for periodic user access reviews and system's security role over primary systems supporting the key financial processes.
•We designed, implemented, and tested new controls for the identification and assessment of the completeness and accuracy of spreadsheets, data, and system-generated reports used within key financial processes.
During the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company completed its testing of the newly designed controls. Based on the foregoing remediation activities and testing of controls, management determined that the material weaknesses were remediated and the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020.
Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures
In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act), management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Based on this evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, our disclosure controls and procedures wereeffective at the reasonable assurance level.
Management's Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Company. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based upon criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated
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Framework (2013) by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020.
Attestation of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and, as part of their audit, has issued their report, included herein, on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Other than the remediation efforts described above taken to address the material weaknesses, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended December 31, 2020, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
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Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Executive Officers and Directors
The following table sets forth the name, age and position of each of our executive officers and directors as of March 1, 2021.Other than as to Michael Moses, as more fully described under “Certain Transactions with Related Persons — Compensation of Chief Astronaut Instructor,” there are no family relationships among any of our executive officers or directors.
Name Age Position
Michael Colglazier 54 Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
Jonathan Campagna 48 Chief Financial Officer
Michael Moses 53 President, Missions and Safety, Galactic Enterprises, LLC
Michelle Kley 49 Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Chamath Palihapitiya 44 Chairperson of the Board of Directors
Wanda Austin 66 Director
Adam Bain 47 Director
Craig Kreeger 61 Director
Evan Lovell 51 Director
George Mattson 54 Director
W. Gilbert West 60 Director
Executive Officers
Michael Colglazier. Mr. Colglazier, 54, has served as our Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our Board of Directors since July 2020 and has served as our President since February 2021. Mr. Colglazier most recently served as President and Managing Director, Disney Parks International from October 2019 until his departure in July 2020 and, from March 2018 to October 2019, as President and Managing Director, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Asia Pacific. In these capacities, he oversaw the operations and development of Disney parks and resorts outside of the United States, focusing on high-growth expansion and development of joint venture opportunities with government agencies. Prior to this, from January 2013 until March 2018, Mr. Colglazier was President of The Disneyland Resort, where he led a workforce of nearly 30,000 employees and drove record business performance and growth. During his 30+ year career at Disney, Mr. Colglazier served in several executive roles where he implemented a series of development and growth strategies across the world focused on product innovation and customer growth. He is currently Chairman of the CEO Roundtable for the University of California, Irvine, and a member of the Engineering Advisory Board of Rice University. He is also a past commissioner and member of the executive committee of the California Travel and Tourism Commission. Mr. Colglazier graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and holds a master's degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
We believe Mr. Colglazier is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive experience developing and growing consumer-oriented businesses strategically, commercially and operationally.
Jonathan Campagna. Mr. Campagna, 48, has served as our Chief Financial Officer since October 2019, and has served as the Chief Financial Officer for the VG Companies since April 2018. Mr. Campagna previously served as Vice President of Finance for the VG Companies from October 2015 to April 2018. Prior to joining the VG Companies, Mr. Campagna served as Controller from July 2012 to October 2015 at ICON Aircraft, a light sport aircraft manufacturer, where he helped transition the organization from a research and development centric organization to a full production environment. Before his tenure at ICON, Mr. Campagna held various financial leadership positions at Ericsson from April 2007 to July 2012, and prior to Ericsson was the Corporate Controller at Tandberg Television from June 2006 to April 2007, when it was acquired by Ericsson. Prior to Tandberg Television, Mr. Campagna was the Corporate Controller at GoldPocket Interactive, a media software provider, from May 2000 to June 2006, shortly after it was acquired by Tandberg Television. Mr. Campagna started his career in the audit and assurance services practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers after graduating from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Mr. Campagna is a certified public accountant (inactive) in the State of California.
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Michael Moses. Mr. Moses, 53, has served as the President, Missions and Safety of Galactic Enterprises, LLC (“GE, LLC”), formerly known as Virgin Galactic, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of ours focused on the operation of our spaceflight systems, since June 2016, and is responsible for overseeing program development and spaceflight operations, including vehicle processing, flight planning, astronaut training and flight crew operations. Mr. Moses previously served as GE, LLC’s Vice-President of Operations from October 2011 to June 2016. Prior to joining the VG Companies, Mr. Moses served at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the Launch Integration Manager from August 2008 to October 2011, where he led all space shuttle processing activities from landing through launch, including serving as the chair of NASA’s Mission Management Team, where he provided ultimate shuttle launch decision authority. Mr. Moses served as Flight Director at NASA’s Johnson Space Center from April 2005 to August 2008 where he led teams of flight controllers in the planning, training and execution of space shuttle missions. Mr. Moses graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Physics and a master’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and earned a master’s degree in Space Sciences from the Florida Institute of Technology. Mr. Moses is a two-time recipient of the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal.
Michelle Kley. Ms. Kley, 49, has served as our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since December 2019. Ms. Kley is responsible for overseeing all legal affairs, including corporate governance, securities law and NYSE compliance, M&A activity and strategic transactions. She also acts as Corporate Secretary and advises the Board of Directors. Prior to joining the Company, from 2016 to 2019, Ms. Kley was the Senior Vice President, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Secretary of Maxar Technologies Inc. (“Maxar”), and from 2012 to 2016, she served as Associate General Counsel and Vice President of Legal of Space Systems/Loral, LLC, a subsidiary of Maxar. Prior to joining Maxar, from 2011 to 2012, Ms. Kley was a corporate associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP. From 2010 to 2011, Ms. Kley served as legal counsel for Beazley Group. From 2003 to 2009, Ms. Kley was a corporate associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati P.C. She is a member of the International Institute of Space Law and serves on the board of directors of its US affiliate, the US Center for Space Law. Ms. Kley graduated from University of California Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall) with a J.D. degree and from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology.
Non-Employee Directors
Chamath Palihapitiya. Mr. Palihapitiya, 44, has served as the Chairperson of our Board of Directors since May 2017. Mr. Palihapitiya founded our company and served as its Chief Executive Officer since its inception until the closing of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination in October 2019. Mr. Palihapitiya also served as a director of Slack Technologies Inc. from April 2014 to December 2019. Prior to founding Social Capital in 2011, Mr. Palihapitiya served as Vice President of User Growth at Facebook, and is recognized as having been a major force in its launch and growth. Mr. Palihapitiya was responsible for overseeing Monetization Products and Facebook Platform, both of which were key factors driving the increase in Facebook’s user base worldwide. Prior to working for Facebook, Mr. Palihapitiya was a principal at the Mayfield Fund, one of the United States’ oldest venture firms, before which he headed the instant messaging division at AOL. Mr. Palihapitiya graduated from the University of Waterloo, Canada with a degree in electrical engineering.
We believe Mr. Palihapitiya is well qualified to serve as the Chairperson of our Board of Directors because of his extensive management history and experience in identifying, investing in and building next-generation technologies and companies, and because he is a significant stockholder of ours.
Wanda Austin. Dr. Austin, 66, has served on the Company's Board of Directors since October 2019. Dr. Austin served as Interim President of the University of Southern California from August 2018 to July 2019 and has held an adjunct Research Professor appointment at the University’s Viterbi School’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering since 2007. Dr. Austin has been a director of Chevron Corporation and Amgen Inc. since December 2016 and October 2017, respectively. From January 2008 to October 2016, Dr. Austin served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Aerospace Corporation, an independent nonprofit corporation operating the only federally funded research and development center for the space enterprise and performing technical analyses and assessments for a variety of government, civil and commercial customers. Before becoming President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Austin served as Senior Vice President of the corporation’s National Systems Group and Engineering and Technology Group. From 2015 to January 2017, Dr. Austin served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, advising the President of the United States in areas where an understanding of science, technology and innovation was key to forming effective U.S. policy. Dr. Austin is also a co-founder of MakingSpace, Inc., focused on creating inclusive opportunities for collaboration, and served on the U.S. Human Spaceflight Review Committee from 2009 to 2010, the Defense Science Board from 2010 to 2016, the Space Foundation from 2013 to 2015, the California Council on Science and Technology from 2008 to 2013 and the NASA Advisory Council from 2005 to 2007 and 2014 to 2017. Dr. Austin is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Austin holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Franklin & Marshall College, master's degrees in systems engineering and mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh and a doctorate in systems engineering from the University of Southern California.
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We believe Dr. Austin is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of her extensive financial and operational experience as well as her deep experience in the aerospace industry.
Adam Bain. Mr. Bain, 47, has served on the Company's Board of Directors since September 2017. Mr. Bain is a co-managing partner of 01 Advisors, a venture capital firm targeting high-growth technology companies, since co-founding the firm in January 2018. Since November 2016, Mr. Bain has also been an independent advisor and investor in select growth-stage companies. Previously, Mr. Bain was the Chief Operating Officer of Twitter from September 2015 until November 2016 and President of Global Revenue & Partnerships from 2010 to September 2015, where he was responsible for the business lines at the public company, building one of the fastest revenue ramps of a consumer internet business. Mr. Bain oversaw employees in multiple countries ranging from Product, Business Operations, Business Development, Media Partnerships, Developer Relations, Twitter’s International business and all of the go-to-market Sales teams for the advertising and data businesses. Previously, Mr. Bain was the President of the Fox Audience Network at Newscorp, responsible for monetizing Fox’s digital assets. Mr. Bain started his career running product and engineering teams at Fox Sports and the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Bain earned his Bachelor of Arts in English Journalism from Miami University in Ohio.
Mr. Bain is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive experience relating to business growth and development within technology and other related industries.
Craig Kreeger. Mr. Kreeger, 61, has served on the Company's Board of Directors since October 2019. Mr. Kreeger recently retired from his role as Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Atlantic after leading the company from February 2013 through December 2018. During his tenure at Virgin Atlantic, Mr. Kreeger was responsible for all airline operations and led the company to rebuild its balance sheet, launch its successful joint venture with Delta Airlines and develop a long-term strategy for expanding the joint venture to include Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Prior to his tenure at Virgin Atlantic, Mr. Kreeger spent 27 years at American Airlines, where he held a variety of commercial, operational, financial and strategic roles. Mr. Kreeger spent his last six years at American as part of its leadership team overseeing its International Division and then all of its Customer Service. Mr. Kreeger holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of California at San Diego and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California at Los Angeles.
We believe Mr. Kreeger is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive operational, financial and managerial experience and his deep industry knowledge.
Evan Lovell. Mr. Lovell, 51, has served on the Company's Board of Directors since October 2019. Mr. Lovell has been a Partner of Virgin Group Holdings Limited and its affiliates (collectively, the “Virgin Group") since October 2012 and is responsible for managing the Virgin Group’s investment team globally. Mr. Lovell currently serves as a member of the board of directors for a number of Virgin Group portfolio companies, including BMR Energy Ltd., V Cruises US, LLC, Virgin Cruises Intermediate Limited, Virgin Cruises Limited, Vieco 10 Limited, Virgin Hotels, LLC, Virgin Sport Group Limited, Virgin Sport Management USA, Inc. and VO Holdings, Inc. From December 2008 to June 2019, Mr. Lovell was a member of the board of directors of AquaVenture Holdings Limited, and from April 2013 to December 2016 was a member of the board of directors of Virgin America Inc. From September 1997 to October 2007, Mr. Lovell served as an investment professional at TPG Capital, where he also served on the board of a number of TPG portfolio companies. Mr. Lovell holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Vermont.
We believe Mr. Lovell is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive experience as a seasoned investor and operator.
George Mattson. Mr. Mattson, 54, has served on the Company's Board of Directors since October 2019. Mr. Mattson has served as a director for Delta Air Lines, Inc. since October 2012. In addition, Mr. Mattson is co-founder of NextGen Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, and has served as co-chairman and a director since October 2020. Previously, Mr. Mattson served as a Partner and Co-Head of the Global Industrials Group in Investment Banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. from November 2002 through August 2012. Mr. Mattson joined Goldman Sachs in 1994, and served in a variety of positions before becoming Partner and Co-Head of the Global Industrials Group. Since his retirement from Goldman Sachs, Mr. Mattson has been a private investor involved in acquiring and growing middle market businesses. Mr. Mattson holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Duke University and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
We believe Mr. Mattson is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive professional and financial experience and his experience as a public company director.
W. Gilbert (Gil) West. Mr. West, 60, has served Chief Operating Officer of Cruise LLC, GM’s majority-owned autonomous vehicle subsidiary, since January 2021, helping in the company’s progression towards commercialization. Prior to this, Mr.
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West served in various leadership positions since he began his career with Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”) in March 2008 and, most recently, from February 2014 to October 2020, served as its Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing Delta’s worldwide operations, including 366 airports in 66 countries, 1,300 aircraft, 200 million customers per year, more than 70,000 employees and an annual budget of $16 billion. Prior to joining Delta, Mr. West served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Laidlaw Transit Services, a provider of transportation serves, from 2006 to 2007. Mr. West currently serves on the board of directors of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ: FWRD) and Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: GNPK). Mr. West has also been a member of the Brevard College Board of Trustees in North Carolina since October 2017 and previously served on the Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society and member of its Executive Leadership Council. Mr. West holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Master of Business Administration from National University.
We believe Mr. West is well qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of his extensive professional experience in the transportation industry and serving as senior executive of a large public company overseeing its extensive operations.
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Section 16(a) under the Exchange Act, requires our directors, executive officers, principal accounting officer and persons who beneficially own more than 10% percent of our common stock to file with the SEC reports of their ownership and reports of changes in their ownership of our common stock. To our knowledge, based solely upon our review of the copies of such reports and amendments to such reports with respect to the year ended December 31, 2020 and on written representations by our directors and executive officers, all required Section 16 reports under the Exchange Act for our directors, executive officers, principal accounting officer and beneficial owners of greater than 10% of our common stock were filed on a timely basis during the year ended December 31, 2020 or prior fiscal years other than Jonathan Campagna, Michael Moses and Enrico Palermo each of whom filed a Form 4 late and each reporting one transaction related to the withholding of shares of Company common stock to cover tax withholding obligation upon the monthly vesting of restricted stock units (“RSUs”).
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics (the “Code of Conduct”) that applies to all of our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions. A copy of our Code of Conduct is available under the under the Governance section of the Investor Information page of our website at www.virgingalactic.com, or by writing to our Corporate Secretary at our offices at 166 North Roadrunner Parkway, Suite 1C, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88011. We intend to make any legally required disclosures regarding amendments to, or waivers of, provisions of our Code of Conduct on our website rather than by filing a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Audit Committee
Our audit committee consists of Dr. Austin and Messrs. Kreeger and Mattson,, with Mr. Mattson serving as chair. The Board of Directors has affirmatively determined that each member of the audit committee qualifies as independent under NYSE rules applicable to board members generally and under the NYSE rules and Exchange Act Rule 10A-3 specific to audit committee members. Our Board of Directors has also determined that each member of our audit committee is financial literate under the applicable NYSE rules and each of Dr. Austin and Mr. Mattson qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as such term is defined in Item 407(d)(5) of Regulation S-K.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
Director Compensation
In 2020 we maintained a compensation program that consists of annual cash retainer fees and long-term equity awards for our non-employee directors who are not affiliated with us and/or the Virgin Group and SCH Sponsor Corp. The eligible directors in 2020 were Dr. Austin and Messrs. Ryans, Kreeger and Mattson. The 2020 Director Compensation Program consisted of the components described below.
In addition, on April 30, 2020, as a precautionary measure during this phase of COVID-19 national mobilization and recovery, each of these directors voluntarily agreed to a 20% reduction of his or her non-employee director cash compensation that otherwise would have been earned for the period from May 11, 2020 through June 30, 2020.
Cash Compensation
• Annual Committee Chair Retainer:
• Nominating and Corporate Governance: $15,000
• Annual Committee Member (Non-Chair) Retainer:
• Compensation: $7,500
• Nominating and Corporate Governance: $7,500
The annual cash retainer will be paid in quarterly installments in arrears. Annual cash retainers will be pro-rated for any partial calendar quarter of service.
Equity Compensation
•Initial Grant to each eligible director who is initially elected or appointed to serve on our Board of Directors: A Restricted Stock Unit (the "RSU") award with an aggregate value of $150,000, which will vest as to one-third of the shares subject to the award on each anniversary of the grant date, subject to continued service.
•Annual Grant to each eligible director who is serving on our Board of Directors as of the date of the annual stockholders’ meeting: A Restricted Stock Unit (the "RSU") award with an aggregate value of $125,000, which will vest in full on the earlier of the one-year anniversary of the grant date and the date of the next annual meeting following the grant date, subject to continued service.
In addition, each equity award granted to the eligible directors under the Director Compensation Program will vest in full immediately prior to the occurrence of a change in control (as defined in the Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. 2019 Incentive
Award Plan (the “2019 Plan”)).
Compensation under the Director Compensation Program is subject to the annual limits on non-employee director compensation set forth in the 2019 Plan.
Director Compensation Table for Fiscal Year 2020
The following table contains information concerning the compensation of our non-employee directors in fiscal year 2020.
___________________
(1) Amounts reflect the full grant-date fair value of stock awards granted during 2020 computed in accordance with ASC Topic 718, rather than the amounts paid to or realized by the named individual. We provide information regarding the assumptions used to calculate the value of all stock awards made to our directors in Note 13 in our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report. The table below shows the aggregate numbers of RSU awards held as of December 31, 2020 by each director.
Name Restricted Stock Units Outstanding at Fiscal Year End
Compensation Committee Report
The compensation committee has discussed and reviewed the following Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management. Based upon this review and discussion, the compensation committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
Submitted by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors:
Dr. Wanda Austin (Chair)
Adam Bain
George Mattson
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Executive Summary
This Compensation Discussion and Analysis describes our 2020 compensation program for our named executive officers, who were:
• Michael Colglazier, our Chief Executive Officer and President,
• Jonathan Campagna, our Chief Financial Officer,
• Michael Moses, who serves as President, Missions and Safety, of GE, LLC,
In particular, this discussion and analysis provides an overview of our executive compensation philosophy, the overall objectives of our executive compensation program, how each element of our executive compensation program is designed to satisfy those objectives, and the policies underlying our 2020 executive compensation program and the compensation awarded to our named executive officers for 2020. The following discussion and analysis of compensation arrangements of our named executive officers should be read together with the compensation tables and related disclosures.
In July 2020, Michael Colglazier was appointed as our Chief Executive Officer and George Whitesides was appointed as Chief Space Officer.In addition, in December 2020 Mr. Palermo resigned as our President, The Spaceship Company and Chief Operating Officer.
Compensation Highlights
Our executive compensation program consists of fixed and variable pay, including cash and non-cash components. The key elements of our 2020 executive compensation program are as follows:
Compensation Element Key Features and Objectives
• Promotes retention and executive stock ownership
Compensation Program Objectives
The main objectives of the Company’s executive compensation program are to:
We believe that the Company’s executive compensation program design features accomplish the following:
Role of the Compensation Committee, Management and Compensation Consultant
The compensation committee has ultimate responsibility for compensation-related decisions and, in 2020, the compensation committee retained an independent consultant, Mercer, for the months in the 2020 calendar year of January through August. Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC was retained by the compensation committee as an independent consultant for the months of September through December of 2020 to assist the committee in its evaluation of the compensation provided to our executive officers. In addition, the compensation committee's independent consultant generally attends compensation committee meetings and provides information, research and analysis pertaining to executive compensation and governance as requested by the compensation committee.
Other than advising the compensation committee, as described above, neither Mercer nor Meridian Compensation Partners provided any services to the Company in 2020. The compensation committee has considered the independence of both Mercer and Meridian Compensation Partners, consistent with the requirements of the NYSE, and has determined that Mercer and Meridian Compensation Partners is independent. Further, pursuant to SEC rules, the compensation committee conducted a conflicts of interest assessment and determined there is no conflict of interest resulting from retaining Mercer and Meridian Compensation Partners in the year 2020. The Compensation Committee intends to reassess the independence of its advisor at least annually.
Stockholder Say-on-Pay Vote
During 2019, we became a large accelerated filer and exited the “emerging growth company” status as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. As such, our stockholders had their first opportunity to cast an advisory vote to approve our named executive officers’ compensation at the 2019 annual meeting.Approximately 99% of votes cast were voted in favor of our say-on-pay proposal, which we believe affirms our stockholders’ support of our approach to our executive compensation program.In addition, at our 2019 annual meeting our stockholders had their first opportunity to cast an advisory vote on the frequency of our say-on-pay proposals, and the majority of our stockholders approved holding such votes on an annual basis.Our next say-on-pay vote will occur at our 2021 annual meeting of stockholders.The Company intends to consider the outcome of the say-on-pay votes when making compensation decisions regarding our named executive officers.
Elements of Our Executive Compensation Program
The Company’s primary components of compensation for its executive officers have been base salary, incentive cash bonuses and grants of long-term equity-based incentive compensation. In 2020, the Company did not have a pre-established policy or target for the allocation between cash and non-cash incentive compensation or between short-term and long-term compensation, although the Company did attempt to keep total cash compensation within the Company’s fiscal year budget while reinforcing its pay-for-performance philosophy.
Base Salaries
The base salaries of our named executive officers are an important part of their total compensation package, and are intended to provide a fixed component of compensation reflecting the executive’s skill set, experience, role and responsibilities.
On April 30, 2020, as a precautionary measure during this phase of COVID-19 national mobilization and recovery, our executive officers, including our named executive officers, voluntarily agreed to a temporary reduction in their annual base salaries.
The annual base salaries earned for the period from May 11, 2020 through June 30, 2020 for Mr. Whitesides was reduced by 20%, and for Messrs. Campagna, Moses and Palermo, Ms. Kley, and our other executive officers' were reduced by 10%.
Additionally, for the same reason described herein, each member of our Board of Directors who is eligible to receive compensation for services on the Board of Directors and the committees thereof voluntarily agreed to a 20% reduction of his or her non-employee director cash compensation that was earned for the period from May 11, 2020 through June 30, 2020.
The following table sets forth the base salaries for each of our named executive officers that were approved for 2020.
Named Executive Officer Approved 2020 Base Salary ($)
Cash-Based Incentive Compensation
Colglazier Signing Bonus
In connection with joining our company, Mr. Colglazier received a one-time cash bonus equal to $1,000,000, one-half of which was paid upon joining the company, and one-half of which will be paid following the first anniversary of his employment commencement date, subject to his continued employment.
2020 Annual Cash Bonuses
Each of our named executive officers participated in 2020 Executive Annual Cash Incentive Program, which was our annual cash bonus program.
Bonuses under the program may be earned based on the achievement of corporate performance objectives and individual performance. The Company's corporate performance objectives included achievement of five pre-established goals with equal weighting of 20% for each goal. The pre-established goals were set in the first quarter of 2020, and related to overall safety performance, commercialization, vehicle test flight readiness, and overall financial and internal program performance at the Company and/or subsidiary (GE, LLC or Galactic Co., LLC (formerly known as TSC, LLC)) levels.
The maximum bonus that may be paid under the program to any executive is 120% of his or her target bonus opportunity for 2020;however, Mr. Colglazier's maximum bonus opportunity is 150% of his target bonus opportunity.
The 2020 target bonus opportunities for the named executive officers are as follows:
Named Executive Officer Target Bonus Opportunity (% of Base Salary)
Michael Colglazier(1) 100%
George Whitesides 50%
Jonathan Campagna 50%
Michael Moses 50%
Michelle Kley 50%
Enrico Palermo(1) 50%
(1)Bonus opportunity will be pro-rated to reflect partial year served in 2020.
The compensation committee has not yet made determinations regarding bonus payments with respect to 2020, but anticipates that such determinations will be made in the first quarter of 2021. Mr. Palermo remains eligible to receive a 2020 bonus based on achievement of performance objectives set forth above, and which will be pro-rated based on his time employed in 2020.
Milestone-Based Cash Incentive Plan
The VG Companies currently maintain a Cash Incentive Plan adopted in 2017 in which certain of the named executive officers participate. These named executive officers are eligible to receive bonuses under the cash incentive plan upon the VG Companies’ achievement of three specified performance objectives (each such objective a “qualifying milestone”). Payment of bonuses pursuant to the cash incentive plan, if any, is contingent upon the applicable named executive officer’s continued employment through the applicable payment date.
The first qualifying milestone was not achieved under the cash incentive plan. In connection with the Virgin Galactic Business
Combination, the second qualifying milestone was achieved in 2019. In addition, the third qualifying milestone was amended such that the amount payable upon achievement of the third qualifying milestone will be conditioned upon the achievement of a cash flow goal prior to, or as of, the end of calendar year 2027, subject to the executive’s continued employment.
The following table shows the remaining bonus opportunity that may become payable upon achieving the amended third qualifying milestone.
Named Executive Officer Amended Third QualifyingMilestone Opportunity ($)
Mr. Whitesides is also eligible to receive a milestone bonus of a lump sum cash payment equal to $500,000, payable within 30 days following a commercial launch.
Equity Compensation
We maintain the 2019 Incentive Award Plan, under which we may grant cash and equity incentive awards to directors, employees and consultants of our Company and our affiliates, to enable us to attract, retain services of these individuals, which we believe are essential to our long-term success.
Anniversary Awards
In 2019, we approved equity awards to our named executive officers in connection with the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, in the form of stock options and RSUs. RSU awards were granted to the named executive officers in connection with the closing, and stock options were granted to each named executive officer as to 50% of the award in connection with the closing; the remaining 50% of the award was granted on the first anniversary of the closing (the “Anniversary Awards”), subject to continued service through the applicable grant date. In 2020, our compensation committee determined to grant the remaining Anniversary Awards in the form of both a stock option and an RSU award, each equating to 50% of the number of shares subject to such remaining portion of the award; in addition, it was decided to remove the $10 per share vesting condition that previously applied to the RSU awards granted in connection with the closing.
The following table sets forth the Anniversary Awards that were granted in 2020 (but does not include any other awards granted in 2020).
_____________
(1)Mr. Whitesides’ Anniversary Awards were granted in July 2020 in connection with his transition to Chief Space Officer.
(2)The other eligible executives’ for the Anniversary Awards were granted in October 2020.
The Anniversary awards that were granted will vest and become exercisable over a four year period. Stock options and RSU awards granted in connection with the closing will vest (and become exercisable, as applicable) as to 25% of the shares subject to each award on the first anniversary of the closing and as to the remaining 75% in substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date. Anniversary Awards granted to Messrs. Campagna, Moses and Palermo will vest (and become exercisable, as applicable) along the same schedule, except the vesting dates will be keyed off of the grant date (rather than the date of the closing). Mr. Whiteside’s stock option is scheduled to vest in equal monthly installments over a two-year period following the July 2020 grant date, and his RSU award is scheduled to vest in equal quarterly installments over the same period, in each case subject to continued service.
Colglazier Awards
In connection with joining our company, we granted to Mr. Colglazier a stock option to purchase 500,000 shares, a restricted stock unit award covering 70,000 shares (the “Signing RSU Award”) and a second RSU award covering 500,000 shares (the “Additional RSU Award”).
Mr. Colglazier’s stock option is scheduled to vest and become exercisable in substantially equal monthly installments over the 60 months following his employment commencement date. Half of the Signing RSU Award was vested as of Mr. Colglazier’s employment start date and half is scheduled to vest on the one year anniversary of such date. The Additional RSU Award is scheduled to vest as to 25% of the RSUs subject to the award on the one year anniversary of his employment commencement
date and as to the remaining 75% in substantially equal quarterly installments over the following 12 quarters.The vesting of each of Mr. Colglazier’s awards subject to his continued service.
Palermo Awards
In connection with his appointment as Chief Operating Officer, in January 2020 we granted to Mr. Palermo a stock option to purchase an aggregate of 145,828 shares and an RSU award covering 55,000 shares. These awards were scheduled to vest as to 25% of the shares subject to the award on the one year anniversary of the his appointment and as to the remaining 75% in substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date. Mr. Palermo forfeited the unvested portions of these awards when he resigned in December 2020.
Other Elements of Compensation
Retirement Plans
In 2020, the named executive officers participated in a 401(k) retirement savings plan. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, allows eligible employees to defer a portion of their compensation, within prescribed limits, on a pre-tax basis through contributions to the 401(k) plan. In 2020, contributions made by participants in the 401(k) plan were matched up to a specified percentage of the employee contributions on behalf of the named executive officers. These matching contributions are fully vested as of the date on which the contribution is made.
Employee Benefits and Perquisites
Health/Welfare Plans. In 2020, the named executive officers had the opportunity to participate in health and welfare plans, including but not limited to the following:
• medical, dental and vision benefits;
• medical and dependent care flexible spending accounts;
• short-term and long-term disability insurance;
• life insurance; and
• vacation and paid holidays.
Perquisites. In 2020, Mr. Palermo received a $3,692 car allowance and an executive annual physical with an additional benefit of $3,976.
Mr. Colglazier received $15,000 in connection with the negotiation of his employment agreement and, subject to availability, he will be entitled to join a spaceflight in connection with the performance of his duties (on a tax grossed-up basis to him) and may invite three guests to join a spaceflight.
Mr. Whitesides received $11,201 for legal fees incurred in connection with the negotiation of the amended employment agreement.In addition, each of Mr. Whitesides and his wife is entitled to a company paid space flight.
We believe the perquisites described above are necessary and appropriate to provide a competitive compensation package to the named executive officers.
Severance and Change in Control-Based Compensation
We have entered into employment agreements with each of our named executive officers that provides for severance upon a termination of employment without cause or for good reason. We believe that job security and terminations of employment, both within and outside of the change of control context, are causes of significant concern and uncertainty for our executive officers and that providing protections to our executive officers in these contexts is therefore appropriate in order to alleviate these concerns and allow the executives to remain focused on their duties and responsibilities to our Company in all situations. These are described and quantified below under “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control.”
Tax and Accounting Considerations
As a general matter, our Board of Directors and the compensation committee review and consider the various tax and accounting implications of compensation programs we utilize.
Code Section 409A
Section 409A of the Code, or Section 409A, requires that “nonqualified deferred compensation” be deferred and paid under plans or arrangements that satisfy the requirements of the statute with respect to the timing of deferral elections, timing of payments and certain other matters. Failure to satisfy these requirements can expose employees and other service providers to accelerated income tax liabilities, penalty taxes and interest on their vested compensation under such plans. Accordingly, as a general matter, it is our intention to design and administer our compensation and benefits plans and arrangements for all of our employees and other service providers, including our named executive officers, so that they are either exempt from, or satisfy the requirements of, Section 409A.
Code Section 280G
Section 280G of the Code, or Section 280G, disallows a tax deduction with respect to excess parachute payments to certain executives of companies which undergo a change of control. In addition, Section 4999 of the Code imposes a 20% excise tax on the individual with respect to the excess parachute payment. Parachute payments are compensation linked to or triggered by a change of control and may include, but are not limited to, bonus payments, severance payments, certain fringe benefits, and payments and acceleration of vesting from long-term incentive plans including stock options, restricted stock and other equity-based compensation. Excess parachute payments are parachute payments that exceed a threshold determined under Section 280G based on the executive’s prior compensation. In approving the compensation arrangements for our named executive officers, our Board of Directors or compensation committee considers all elements of the cost to the Company of providing such compensation, including the potential impact of Section 280G. However, the Board of Directors or compensation committee may, in its judgment, authorize compensation arrangements that could give rise to loss of deductibility under Section 280G and the imposition of excise taxes under Section 4999 when it believes that such arrangements are appropriate to attract and retain executive talent.
Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation
We follow the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, or ASC Topic 718, for our stock-based compensation awards. ASC Topic 718 requires companies to calculate the grant date “fair value” of their stock-based awards using a variety of assumptions. ASC Topic 718 also requires companies to recognize the compensation cost of their stock-based awards in their income statements over the period that an employee is required to render service in exchange for the award. Grants of stock options and RSUs under our equity incentive award plan are accounted for under ASC Topic 718. Our Board of Directors or compensation committee will regularly consider the accounting implications of significant compensation decisions, especially in connection with decisions that relate to our equity incentive award plan and programs. As accounting standards change, we may revise certain programs to appropriately align accounting expenses of our equity awards with our overall executive compensation philosophy and objectives.
SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE
The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of the named executive officers for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.
Chief Executive Officer(2)
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary — — — — —
(1) Salaries for each named executive officer other than Mr. Colglazier, who joined July 2020, reflect voluntary reductions to the base salaries paid May through June 2020.
(2) In July 2020, Mr. Colglazier become our Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Whitesides transitioned to become our Chief Space Officer.
(3)With respect to 2020, the amount for Mr. Colglazier represents one half of his signing bonus.
(4) The amounts shown in this column represent the grant date fair value RSUs and stock options awarded to the named executive officers in the applicable year, computed in accordance with the requirements of FASB ASC Topic 718, but excluding any impact of forfeitures as required by SEC regulations. We provide information regarding the assumptions used to calculate the value of all option and RSU awards made to executives in Note 13 to our financial statements included in our Form 10-K. In addition, with respect to 2020, the amounts include the incremental fair value associated with the modification of December 2019 RSU's granted to Messrs. Whitesides, Campagna, Moses and Palermo (to remove a stock price goal as a vesting condition).
(5) For 2020, The Compensation Committee has not yet made determinations regarding bonus payments with respect to 2020, but anticipates that such determinations will be made in the first quarter of 2021.
(6) Mr. Palermo departed from our company on December 4, 2020. Mr. Palermo's 2020 Salary includes his unused accrued vacation, paid out at the time of termination in December 2020.
(7) For 2020, amounts in this column include the amounts set forth in the table below:
(a) Amounts include safe harbor and employer matching contributions made in 2020.
GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS IN FISCAL 2020
(1) The amounts in this column represent the value of the portion of the annual bonus that each named executive officer was eligible to earn in 2020 based on achievement of designated Company performance objectives. For further discussion of the 2020 annual bonuses see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Cash-Based Incentive Compensation — 2020 Executive Annual Cash Incentive Program.”
(2)The amounts in this column represent the value of the maximum target bonus opportunity that each named executive officer was eligible to earn in 2020 based on the achievements of designated Company performance objectives and individual performance. For further discussion of the 2020 annual bonuses see "Compensation Discussion and Analysis - Cash-Based Incentive Compensation - 2020 Executive Annual Cash Incentive Program.
(3) The amounts in the table reflect the full grant date fair value of time-vesting option and RSU awards computed in accordance with the requirements of ASC Topic 718, but excluding any impact of forfeitures as required by SEC regulations. We provide information regarding the assumptions used to calculate the value of all option and RSU awards made to executives in Note 13 in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in our Form 10-K.
(4) The amounts reflect the incremental fair value associated with the modification of December 2019 RSU's granted to Messrs. Whitesides, Campagna, Moses and Palermo (to remove a stock price goal as a vesting condition).
Narrative to Summary Compensation Table and Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table
The following is a description of the employment agreements we have entered into with our named executive officers.
General Description of Employment Agreements
Each agreement will continue until terminated in accordance with its terms, and provides for an annual base salary, target annual bonus and eligibility to participate in customary health, welfare and fringe benefit plans, provided by the Company to its executive officers.
Pursuant to the employment agreements, each of Messrs. Whitesides, Campagna, Moses and Palermo were entitled, in connection with the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, to receive stock options to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock and an RSU award covering shares of the Company’s common stock. The RSUs were granted in connection with the closing of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, and were effective as of the date of the filing of the Form S-8 for the 2019 Plan. Half of the stock options were granted to the executives at the closing and half were expected to be granted on the first anniversary of the closing; however, as described above, the second half was granted in the form of both stock options and RSU awards.
Awards granted in connection with the closing will vest as to 25% of the shares subject to the award on the one year anniversary of the closing and as to the remaining 75% in substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date. Awards granted on the first anniversary of the closing will vest along the same schedule, except the vesting dates will be keyed off of the grant date (rather than the closing).However, as described above, Mr. Whiteside’s stock option is scheduled to vest in equal monthly installments over a two-year period following the July 2020 grant date, and his RSU award is scheduled to vest in equal quarterly installments over the same period, in each case subject to continued service.
The employment agreements also contain customary confidentiality and non-solicitation provisions, and also includes a “best pay” provision under Section 280G of the Code, pursuant to which any “parachute payments” that become payable to the executive will either be paid in full or reduced, so that such payments are not subject to the excise tax under Section 4999 of the Code, whichever results in the better after-tax treatment to the executive.
Michael Colglazier Employment Agreement
In July 2020 we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Colglazier.Mr. Colglazier’s service pursuant to the employment agreement will continue for a period of five years, unless earlier terminated in accordance with its terms. Pursuant to his employment agreement, Mr. Colglazier serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company and reports directly to the Company’s Board of Directors. During the employment period, the Company is obligated to cause Mr. Colglazier to be nominated to stand for election to the Board of Directors, unless an event constituting “cause” has occurred and not been cured or Mr. Colglazier has issued a termination notice.
Under the employment agreement, Mr. Colglazier is entitled to receive an initial annual base salary of $1,000,000, subject to annual review by the Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof and to increase in its discretion, and is eligible to receive an annual performance bonus targeted at 100% of his then-current annual base salary, ranging from a minimum threshold of 50% to a maximum threshold of 150% based on performance objectives are achieved (respectively). The actual amount of any annual bonus will be determined by reference to the attainment of applicable Company and/or individual performance objectives, as determined by the Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof.
Mr. Colglazier also received a one-time cash bonus equal to $1,000,000, one-half paid following his employment start date and one-half to be paid following the first anniversary of his employment start date, subject to his continued employment. In
addition, Mr. Colglazier (i) was entitled to receive reimbursement of (or Company-paid) legal fees of $15,000 in connection with the negotiation of his employment agreement and (ii) subject to availability, will be entitled to join a spaceflight in connection with the performance of his duties (on a tax grossed-up basis to him) and may invite three guests to join a spaceflight.
In connection with joining our company, we granted to Mr. Colglazier a stock option to purchase 500,000 shares, an RSU award covering 70,000 shares (the “Signing RSU Award”) and a second RSU award covering 500,000 shares (the “Additional RSU Award”).
Mr. Colglazier’s stock option is scheduled to vest and become exercisable in substantially equal monthly installments over the 60 months following his employment commencement date. Half of the Signing RSU Award was vested as of Mr. Colglazier’s employment start date and half is scheduled to vest on the one year anniversary of such date. The Additional RSU Award is scheduled to vest as to 25% of the RSUs subject to the award on the one year anniversary of his employment commencement date and as to the remaining 75% in substantially equal quarterly installments over the following 12 quarters.The vesting of each of Mr. Colglazier’s awards subject to his continued service.
George Whitesides Amended and Restated Employment Agreement
On July 20, 2020, Mr. Whitesides transitioned from the role of our Chief Executive Officer to become our Chief Space Officer. In connection with his appointment as our Chief Space Officer, Mr. Whitesides and the Company entered into an amended and restated employment agreement, which supersedes and replaces his prior employment agreement.
Under the amended employment agreement, Mr. Whitesides is entitled to receive an initial annual base salary of $450,000, subject to increase at the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof and is eligible to receive an annual performance bonus targeted at 50% of Mr. Whitesides’ then-current annual base salary. The actual amount of any such bonus will be determined by reference to the attainment of applicable Company and/or individual performance objectives, as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof. Mr. Whitesides also is eligible to earn a one-time cash bonus equal to $500,000, payable within 30 days following a commercial launch, subject to his employment through the payment date. In addition, Mr. Whitesides is entitled to join a spaceflight in connection with the performance of his duties, and his wife is entitled to join a spaceflight.
Jonathan Campagna Employment Agreement
On October 25, 2019, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Campagna. Pursuant to his employment agreement, Mr. Campagna serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company and reports directly to our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Campagna’s service pursuant to the employment agreement will continue until terminated in accordance with its terms. Under the employment agreement, Mr. Campagna is entitled to receive an initial annual base salary of $350,000, subject to increase at the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof and is eligible to receive an annual performance bonus targeted at 50% of Mr. Campagna’s then-current annual base salary. The actual amount of any such bonus will be determined by reference to the attainment of applicable Company and/or individual performance objectives, as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof.
Michael Moses Employment Agreement
On October 25, 2019, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Moses. Pursuant to his employment agreement, Mr. Moses serves as the President, Missions and Safety, of GE, LLC and reports directly to our Chief Executive Officer. Under the employment agreement, Mr. Moses is entitled to receive an initial annual base salary of $350,000, subject to increase at the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof and is eligible to receive an annual performance bonus targeted at 50% of Mr. Moses then-current annual base salary. The actual amount of any such bonus will be determined by reference to the attainment of applicable Company and/or individual performance objectives, as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof.
Enrico Palermo Employment Agreement
Prior to his departure in December 2020, we were party to an employment agreement with Mr. Palermo, which was amended January 13, 2020. Pursuant to his amended employment agreement, Mr. Palermo served as the Chief Operating Officer of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. and President of Galactic Co., LLC and reported directly to our Chief Executive Officer. Under his amended employment agreement, Mr. Palermo was entitled to receive an initial annual base salary of $425,000, subject to
increase at the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof and was eligible to receive an annual performance bonus targeted at 50% of Mr. Palermo’s then-current annual base salary. The actual amount of any such bonus will be determined by reference to the attainment of applicable Company and/or individual performance objectives, as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof. Mr. Palermo also was entitled to an annual vehicle allowance of $3,600. In addition, Mr. Palermo was entitled to receive a $60,000 bonus in connection with certain events related to entering into his amended employment agreement.
Pursuant to his amended employment agreement Mr. Palermo received, in connection with his appointment as Chief Operating Officer, an additional award of stock options to purchase an aggregate of 291,656 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Palermo Options”) and an RSU award covering 55,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Palermo RSUs” and, together with the Palermo Option, the “Palermo Equity Awards”). The Palermo RSUs and half of the Palermo Options were granted on January 13, 2020; the other half of the Palermo Options were to be granted on January 13, 2021, subject to Mr. Palermo’s continued employment through the applicable grant date. The Palermo Equity Awards granted on January 13, 2020 will vest as to 25% of the shares subject to the award on the one year anniversary of the grant date and as to the remaining 75% in substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date. Palermo Equity Awards eligible to be granted on January 13, 2021 included a similar four-year vesting schedule from and after the grant date.
Michelle Kley Employment Agreement
On December 2, 2019, we entered into an employment agreement with Ms. Kley. Pursuant to her employment agreement, Ms. Kley serves as the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary and reports directly to our Chief Executive Officer. Under the employment agreement, Ms. Kley is entitled to receive an initial annual base salary of $350,000, subject to increase at the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof and is eligible to receive an annual performance bonus targeted at 50% of Ms. Kley’s then-current annual base salary. The actual amount of any such bonus will be determined by reference to the attainment of applicable Company and/or individual performance objectives, as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or a subcommittee thereof.
OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR-END
The following table summarizes the number of shares of common stock underlying outstanding equity incentive plan awards for each named executive officer as of December 31, 2020.
Option Awards Stock Awards
— — — — — — —
________________
(1) The market value of shares of our common stock that have not vested is calculated based on the closing trading price of our common stock ($23.73) as reported on the NYSE on December 31, 2020.
(2) This stock option vests and becomes exercisable in substantially equal monthly installments over the 60-month period following Mr. Colglazier’s employment commencement date, July 20, 2020, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
(3) This RSU award vests in full on July 20, 2021, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
(4) This RSU award vests as to 25% of the restricted stock units on July 20, 2021 and in substantially equal quarterly installments over the following 12 quarters, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
(5)This stock option has vested as to 25% of the shares underlying the option on October 25, 2020, and the remaining 75% of the underlying shares will vest in substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
(6) This RSU award vested as to 25% of the restricted stock units on October 25, 2020, and as to the remaining 75% of the underlying shares in substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
(7)This stock option vests and becomes exercisable in 24 substantially equal installments on each of the 24 monthly anniversaries, following the grant date, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
(8)This RSU award vests in substantially equal quarterly installments over the two-year period following the grant date, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
(9)This stock option will vest and become exercisable with respect to 25% of the shares underlying the option on October 25, 2021, and as to the remaining 75% of the underlying shares will vest in substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
(10) This RSU award vested as to 25% of the restricted stock units on October 25, 2021, and as to the remaining 75% of the underlying shares in substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
(11)This stock option will vest and become exercisable with respect to 25% of the shares underlying the option on the first anniversary of the grant date, December 31, 2019 and as to the remaining 75% of the underlying shares, in substantially equal monthly installments over the following 36 months, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date.
2020 OPTION EXERCISES AND STOCK VESTED
The following table shows the number of shares of common stock acquired by each Named Executive Officer during 2020 upon the exercise of stock options and the vesting of RSUs during 2020.
Option Awards Stock Awards
Michelle Kley — — — $ —
(1) Represents the amounts realized based on the fair market value of our stock on the exercise or vesting date.
POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION OR CHANGE IN CONTROL
In accordance with SEC rules, the following table summarizes the payments that would be made to certain of our named executive officers upon the occurrence of certain qualifying terminations of employment, assuming such named executive officer’s termination of employment with the Company occurred on December 31, 2020 and, where relevant, that a change of control of the Company occurred on December 31, 2020. Amounts shown in the table below do not include (1) accrued but unpaid salary and (2) other benefits earned or accrued by the named executive officers during his employment that are available to all salaried employees, such as accrued vacation).
We have entered into certain agreements with each of our named executive officers that provide our named executive officers with severance protections. The employment agreements provide that the named executive officers will be eligible for severance benefits in certain circumstances following a termination of employment without cause or with good reason, whether or not in connection with a change in control.
Under his employment agreement, if Mr. Colglazier experiences a “qualifying termination” of employment, then, in addition to any accrued amounts, he will be entitled to receive the following severance payments and benefits:
•A cash severance amount equal to the sum of (i) his annual base salary then in effect and (ii) his target annual bonus, multiplied by (A) 1.0 if the termination date occurs after the second anniversary of the employment start date or (B) 2.0 if the termination date occurs on or before the second anniversary of the employment start date. The multiplier also
will equal 2.0 if the termination date occurs during the 24-month period following a “change in control” (as defined in the 2019 Plan) of the Company.
•Pro-rated annual bonus for the year of termination.
•Company-subsidized healthcare coverage for 12 - 18 months after the termination date.
•Accelerated vesting of any then-outstanding Company equity awards that vest based solely on the passage of time. The accelerated vesting will cover the number of shares or RSUs that would have vested during the 12-month period following the termination date (or, if the termination occurs on or before the second anniversary of the employment start date, the 24-month period). However, if the termination occurs during the 24-month period following a change in control, then such equity awards will vest in full.
•Continued opportunity to receive the spaceflight described above (but not if his employment terminates due to his death or disability).
A “qualifying termination” includes a termination of Mr. Colglazier’s employment (i) by the Company without “cause”, (ii) by Mr. Colglazier for “good reason” (as defined in the employment agreement), (iii) due to Mr. Colglazier’s death or disability or (iv) by reason of the Company’s non-renewal of the employment agreement at the end of its term.
Under the employment agreements for Messrs. Campagna and Moses, and Ms. Kley, if the executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without “cause,” or by the executive for “good reason” (each, as defined in the employment agreement, and referred to herein as a qualifying termination) then the executive will be entitled to receive the following severance payments and benefits:
• continued healthcare coverage for 6 months after the termination date.
However, if either such termination of employment occurs on or within 24 months following a “change in control” (as defined in the 2019 Plan), then the executive instead will be entitled to receive the following severance payments and benefits:
• continued healthcare coverage for 12 months after the termination date; and
Under his employment agreement as in effect on December 31, 2020, if Mr. Whitesides experiences a “qualifying termination” of employment, then, in addition to any accrued amounts, he will be entitled to receive the following severance payments and benefits:
A “qualifying termination” includes a termination of Mr. Whitesides’ employment (i) by the Company without “cause” (as defined in the amended employment agreement), (ii) by Mr. Whitesides for “good reason” (as defined in the amended employment agreement) or (iii) by Mr. Whitesides for any reason after November 1, 2020.
The severance payments and benefits described above are subject to the executive’s execution and non-revocation of a general release of claims in favor of the Company and continued compliance with customary confidentiality and non-solicitation requirements, then, in addition to any accrued amounts. Mr. Palermo departed from our Company in December
2020 and did not receive any severance payments or benefits; however, he remains eligible to receive a pro-rata bonus under our 2020 annual bonus program.
Vesting of Equity Awards — 9,450,698
Vesting of Equity Awards — 1,476,000
(1) Mr. Colgazier's total does not include the value of the commercial flight bonus and the spaceflight.
(2) Mr. Whitesides' total does not include the milestone payment or the value of the spaceflight.
CEO PAY RATIO
As required by Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K, we are providing the following information regarding the relationship of the annual total compensation of our median compensated employee to the annual total compensation of Michael Colglazier, our CEO. We consider the pay ratio specified below to be a reasonable estimate, calculated in a manner that is intended to be consistent with the requirements of Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K.
For 2020, our last completed fiscal year:
Based on this information, for 2020, our CEO’s annual total compensation was approximately 90 times that of the median of the annual total compensation of all of our employees (other than the CEO).
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION
During 2020, the members of our compensation committee were Dr. Austin and Messrs. Bain and Mattson, none of whom was during fiscal year 2020 an officer or employee of the Company or was formerly an officer of the Company. Related person
transactions pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K involving those who served on the compensation committee during 2020 are described in “Certain Transactions with Related Persons.”
During 2020, none of our executive officers served as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee (or other committee performing equivalent functions) of any entity that had one or more executive officers serving on our Board of Directors or compensation committee.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table provides information on our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2020. The only plan pursuant to which the Company may currently make additional equity grants is the 2019 Plan.
(a) (b) (c)
Equity compensation plans not approved by stockholders — — —
(1) Consists of the 2019 Plan.
(2) Amount includes 6,796,045 stock options and 4,760,784 RSUs.
(3) As of December 31, 2020, the weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options under the 2019 Plan was $13.61. The calculation of the weighted average exercise price does not include outstanding equity awards that are received or exercised for no consideration.
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners And Management
The following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of February 22, 2021 for
•each person who is known to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of shares of our outstanding common stock;
•each of our current named executive officers and directors; and
•all of our current executive officers and directors as a group.
Beneficial ownership is determined according to the rules of the SEC, which generally provide that a person has beneficial ownership of a security if he, she or it possesses sole or shared voting or investment power over that security, including options and warrants that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days. The beneficial ownership of our voting securities is based on 236,944,263 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding as of February 22, 2021. Each share of our common stock is entitled to one vote on any matter presented to stockholders. Unless otherwise indicated, the Company believes that all persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to the voting securities beneficially owned by them.
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Shares BeneficiallyOwned
Shares % of Ownership
Name of Beneficial Owner(1)
Holders of More Than 5%
Directors and Named Executive Officers
Evan Lovell — *
W. Gilbert West — *
All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group
* Less than one percent
(1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of those listed in the table above is 166 North Roadrunner Parkway, Suite 1C, Las Cruces, NM 88011
(2) VIL is a company limited by shares under the laws of the British Virgin Islands. VIL is wholly owned by Virgin Group Investments LLC, whose sole managing member is Corvina Holdings Limited, which is wholly owned by Virgin Group Holdings. Virgin Group Holdings is owned by Sir Richard Branson, and he has the ability to appoint and remove the management of Virgin Group Holdings and, as such, may indirectly control the decisions of Virgin Group Holdings regarding the voting and disposition of securities held by Virgin Group Holdings. Therefore, Sir Richard Branson may be deemed to have indirect beneficial ownership of the shares held by Virgin Group Holdings. The address of VIL, Virgin Group Holdings Limited, and Corvina Holdings Limited is Craigmuir Chambers, Road Town, Tortola, VG1110, British Virgin Islands. The address of Sir Richard Branson is Branson Villa (Necker Beach Estate), Necker Island, VG 1150, British Virgin Islands
(3) Includes 15,750,000 shares of our common stock directly held by the Sponsor and 8,000,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of warrants issued to the Sponsor in a private placement concurrent with our initial public offering. Chamath Palihapitiya may be deemed to beneficially own securities held by the Sponsor by virtue of his shared control over the Sponsor. The address of the Sponsor is 317 University Avenue, Suite 200, Palo Alto, California 94301.
(4) Mr. Bain has pledged, hypothecated or granted security interests in all of the shares of our common stock held by him pursuant to a margin loan agreement with customary default provisions. In the event of a default under the margin loan agreement, the secured parties may foreclose upon any and all shares of common stock pledged to them and may seek recourse against the borrower.
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(5) Mr. Palihapitiya has pledged, hypothecated or granted security interests in all of the shares of our common stock held by him (but not those shares held by the Sponsor) pursuant to a margin loan agreement with customary default provisions. In the event of a default under the margin loan agreement, the secured parties may foreclose upon any and all shares of common stock pledged to them and may seek recourse against the borrower.
(6) Includes 18,482 shares of common stock held directly by Craig Kreeger.
(7) Includes 8,482 shares of common stock held directly by George Mattson.
(8) Includes up to 18,354 shares of common stock held directly by Jonathan Campagna. Includes up to 54,110 shares of common stock that can be acquired upon the exercise of options that will be vested within 60 days of February 22, 2021.Includes 3,866 shares of common stock that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of February 22, 2021.
(9) Includes 17,647 shares of common stock held directly by Michael Colglazier. Includes up to 75,000 shares of common stock that can be acquired upon the exercise of options that will be vested within 60 days of February 22, 2021.
(10) Includes up to 43,492 shares of common stock held directly by Michael Moses. Includes up to 162,330 shares of common stock that can be acquired upon the exercise of options that will be vested within 60 days of February 22, 2021. Includes 5,799 shares of common stock that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of February 22, 2021.
(11) Includes 3,810 shares of common stock held directly by Michelle Kley. Includes up to 100,000 shares of common stock that can be acquired upon the exercise of options that will be vested within 60 days of February 22, 2021.
(12) Includes 8,482 shares of common stock held directly by Wanda Austin.
(13) Includes 410,861 shares of common stock held directly by Enrico Palermo.
(14) Includes 301,994 shares of common stock held directly by George Whitesides. Includes up to 66,841 shares of common stock that can be acquired upon the exercise of options that will be vested within 60 days of February 22, 2021. Includes 48,223 shares of common stock that will be issued upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of February 22, 2021
(15) Includes 8,391,440 options vested as of, or vesting within, 60 days of February 22, 2021 and 9,665 RSUs vesting
within 60 days of February 22, 2021.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transaction, and Director Independence
Policies and Procedures for Related Party Transactions
Our Board of Directors has adopted a written related person transaction policy setting forth the policies and procedures for the review and approval or ratification of related person transactions. This policy covers, with certain exceptions set forth in Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), any transaction, arrangement or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships, in which we were or are to be a participant, where the amount involved exceeds $120,000 in any fiscal year and a related person had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. In reviewing and approving any such transactions, our audit committee is tasked to consider all relevant facts and circumstances, including, but not limited to, whether the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained on terms no less favorable than in arm’s length dealings with an unrelated third party and the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction.
Stockholders’ Agreement
In connection with the closing of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, we entered into a stockholders’ agreement (the “Stockholders’ Agreement”) with Vieco USA, Inc. (“Vieco US”), the Sponsor and Mr. Palihapitiya. In March 2020, Vieco US distributed its shares of our common stock to Vieco 10 and, in connection with such distribution, Vieco 10 executed a joinder to the Stockholders’ Agreement and to the Registration Rights Agreement described below. On July 30, 2020, Vieco 10 subsequently distributed its shares of our common stock to VIL and Aabar and, in connection with such distribution, VIL and Aabar executed a joinder to the Stockholders’ Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement.
Board Composition
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Under the Stockholders’ Agreement, VIL has the right to designate three directors (the “VG designees”) for as long as VIL and Aabar beneficially own 57,395,219 or more shares of our common stock, which represents 50% of the number of shares beneficially owned by Vieco US immediately following the closing of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination and related transactions, provided that, when such beneficial ownership falls below (x) 57,395,219 shares, VIL will have the right to designate only two directors, (y) 28,697,610 shares, VIL will have the right to designate only one director and (z) 11,479,044 shares, VIL will not have the right to designate any directors. For purposes of determining the number of shares beneficially owned by VIL and the extent of VIL’s nomination and consent rights under the Stockholders’ Agreement, the shares distributed to Aabar are deemed to be held by VIL until such time as Aabar transfers or sells such shares, subject to certain exceptions, as contemplated by the Stockholders’ Agreement. Each of the Sponsor and Mr. Palihapitiya have agreed to vote, or cause to vote, all of their outstanding shares of our common stock at any annual or special meeting of stockholders in which directors are elected, so as to cause the election of the VG designees.
Additionally, pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement, Mr. Palihapitiya also has the right to designate two directors (the “CP designees”), one of which must qualify as an “independent director” under stock exchange regulations applicable to us, for as long as Mr. Palihapitiya and the Sponsor collectively beneficially own at least 21,375,000 shares of our common stock, which represents 90% of the number of shares beneficially owned by them as of immediately following the closing of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, but excluding the 10,000,000 shares purchased by Mr. Palihapitiya from Vieco US, provided that when such beneficial ownership falls below (x) 21,375,000 shares, Mr. Palihapitiya will have the right to designate only one director, who will not be required to qualify as an “independent director” and (y) 11,875,000 shares, Mr. Palihapitiya will not have the right to designate any directors. VIL has agreed to vote, or cause to vote, all of its outstanding shares of our common stock at any annual or special meeting of stockholders in which directors are elected, so as to cause the election of the CP designees. The initial chairperson of the Board of Directors is Mr. Palihapitiya until such time as VIL identifies a permanent chairperson who qualifies as an independent director and is reasonably acceptable to Mr. Palihapitiya.
Under the terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, two directors (the “Other designees”), each of whom must qualify as an “independent director” under stock exchange regulations applicable to us and one of whom must qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined under the rules of the SEC, were appointed in accordance with the Stockholders’ Agreement and, thereafter, will be as determined by the Board of Directors. In addition, under the terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, the individual serving as our Chief Executive Officer (the “CEO designee”), was appointed in accordance with the Stockholders’ Agreement to our Board of Directors and will, going forward, be determined by what individual holds the title of our Chief Executive Officer.
Resignation; Removal; Vacancies
Upon any decrease in the number of directors that VIL or Mr. Palihapitiya is entitled to designate for nomination to our Board of Directors, VIL or Mr. Palihapitiya, as applicable, shall take all necessary action to cause the appropriate number of designees to offer to tender their resignation, effective as of the next annual meeting of our stockholders. If as a result of changes in ownership by VIL or by the Sponsor and Mr. Palihapitiya of our common stock such that there are any seats on our Board of Directors for which none of VIL or Mr. Palihapitiya have the right to designate a director, the selection of such director shall be conducted in accordance with applicable law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws.
VIL and Mr. Palihapitiya will have the exclusive right to remove one or more of the VG designees or CP designees, respectively, from the Board of Directors and VIL and Mr. Palihapitiya will have the exclusive right to designate directors for election to the Board of Directors to fill vacancies created by reason of death, removal or resignation of VG designees or CP designees, respectively (in each case, so long as the applicable party retains its right to designate a director to such seat on our Board of Directors by virtue of its ownership levels of our common stock). Until the earliest of (i) the date Mr. Palihapitiya is no longer entitled to designate two CP designees to our Board of Directors or, if earlier, the date VIL is no longer entitled to designate two or more VG designees to our Board of Directors, in each case, pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement (the “Sunset Date”) and (ii) the expiration of the lock-up period under the Registration Rights Agreement (as defined below), VIL will take no action to cause the removal of any of the other designees appointed under the Stockholders’ Agreement. Until the Sunset Date, VIL must consult and discuss with the other members of our Board of Directors before undertaking any action to cause the removal of one or more of the Other designees.
Chairperson of the Board of Directors
For so long as Mr. Palihapitiya is entitled to designate at least one director for election to our Board of Directors in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Stockholders’ Agreement, we and the other parties to the Stockholders’ Agreement will take all necessary action to cause Mr. Palihapitiya to be the chair of our Board of Directors. However, at such time as VIL identifies and nominates a permanent chairperson who is reasonably acceptable to Mr. Palihapitiya and whom the Board of Directors determines qualifies as an “independent director” under applicable stock exchange regulations, Mr.
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Palihapitiya will resign from the role of chair and the new director will replace a resigning other designee on our Board of Directors and assume the role of chair.
Voting; Necessary Actions
In addition, pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement, we and the other parties thereto have agreed not to take, directly or indirectly, any actions (including removing directors in a manner inconsistent with the Stockholders’ Agreement) that would frustrate, obstruct or otherwise affect the provisions of the Stockholders’ Agreement and the intention of the parties thereto with respect to the composition of our Board of Directors as provided in the agreement. Each of the stockholders party to the agreement, to the extent not prohibited by our certificate of incorporation, will vote all of their respective shares of our common stock in such manner as may be necessary to elect and/or maintain in office as members of our Board of Directors those individuals designated in accordance with the Stockholders’ Agreement and to otherwise effect the intent of the provisions of the Stockholders’ Agreement.
VIL Approval Rights; Limitations
Pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement, among other things, VIL also has certain approval rights with respect to significant corporate transactions and other actions involving us as set forth below.
For so long as VIL is entitled to designate one director to our Board of Directors under the Stockholders’ Agreement, in addition to any vote or consent of our stockholders or Board of Directors as required by law, we must obtain VIL’s prior written consent to engage in:
• any business combination or similar transaction;
• a liquidation or related transaction; or
For so long as VIL is entitled to designate two directors to our Board of Directors under the Stockholders’ Agreement, in addition to any vote or consent of our stockholders or Board of Directors as required by law, we must obtain VIL’s prior written consent to engage in:
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• increasing or decreasing the size of our Board of Directors;
• a liquidation or similar transaction;
• engaging any professional advisors for any of the matters listed above; or
However, the Stockholders’ Agreement also contemplates that: (i) no transaction involving consideration of $120,000 or more, between VIL or any affiliate of VIL, on the one hand, and us on the other, may be approved without the affirmative vote of at least a majority of our directors that were not designated by VIL under the terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement (or otherwise) and (ii) VIL and the directors it has designated to our Board of Directors, as applicable, will be required to first consult and discuss with our Board of Directors before (x) adopting, amending or repealing, in whole or in part, our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or (y) taking any action by written consent as our stockholder, in each case, in addition to any vote or consent required under our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, and otherwise in accordance with the other terms and subject to the other conditions contemplated by the Stockholders’ Agreement.
Termination
The provisions of the Stockholders’ Agreement relating to the stockholders’ agreement to vote, VIL’s approval rights and our covenants will terminate automatically on the first date on which no voting party has the right to designate a director to our Board of Directors under the Stockholders’ Agreement; provided, that the provisions of the Stockholders’ Agreement regarding indemnification of our directors and maintenance of director and officer liability insurance by us will survive such termination. The remaining provisions of the Stockholders’ Agreement will terminate automatically as to each voting party when such party ceases to beneficially own any of our securities that may be voted in the election of our directors registered in the name of, or beneficially owned (as such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, including by the exercise or conversion of any security exercisable or convertible for shares of our common stock, but excluding shares of stock underlying unexercised options or warrants) by such party.
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Transfer Restrictions and Registration Rights
At the closing of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, we entered into an Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with Vieco US, the Sponsor and Mr. Palihapitiya, pursuant to which we have agreed to register for resale, pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, certain shares of our common stock and other equity securities (the “Registrable Securities”) that are held by the parties thereto from time to time. In March 2020, Vieco US distributed its shares of our common stock to Vieco 10 and, in connection with such distribution, Vieco 10 executed a joinder to the Registration Rights Agreement. In July 2020, Vieco 10 subsequently distributed its shares of our common stock to VIL and Aabar and, in connection with such distribution, VIL and Aabar executed a joinder to the Registration Rights Agreement.
In accordance with Registration Rights Agreement, we have filed resale registration statements for the benefit of the holders of Registrable Securities, which have been declared effective by the SEC. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, we are required to file with the SEC such amendments and supplements as may be necessary to keep a resale registration statement continuously effective, available for use and in compliance with the provisions of the Securities Act until such time as there are no longer any Registrable Securities held by the parties to the Registration Rights Agreement or their permitted transferees.
Additionally, the Registration Rights Agreement contains certain restrictions on transfer with respect to the shares of our common stock held by the Sponsor immediately following the closing of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination and the shares of our common stock received by Vieco US in connection with the Virgin Galactic Business Combination and now held by VIL and Aabar, including a two-year lock-up of such shares held by the Sponsor and 50% of the shares received by Vieco US, in each case, subject to limited exceptions as contemplated thereby.
VG Companies’ Historical Relationship with Vieco 10
In connection with the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, we entered into new or amended agreements in order to provide a framework for its relationship with VEL, Vieco 10 and their respective affiliates (other than the VG Companies), including the Amended TMLA and the Transition Services Agreements as described below.
Virgin Trademark License Agreement
We possess certain exclusive and non-exclusive rights to use the name and brand “Virgin Galactic” and the Virgin signature logo pursuant to an amended and restated trademark license agreement (the “Amended TMLA”). Our rights under the Amended TMLA are subject to certain reserved rights and pre-existing licenses granted by Virgin Enterprises Limited (“VEL”) to third parties. In addition, for the term of the Amended TMLA, to the extent the Virgin Group does not otherwise have a right to place a director on our Board of Directors, we have agreed to provide VEL with the right to appoint one director to our Board of Directors, provided the designee is qualified to serve on the Board of Directors under all applicable corporate governance policies and applicable regulatory and listing requirements.
Unless terminated earlier, the Amended TMLA has an initial term of 25 years expiring October 2044, subject to up to two additional 10-year renewals by mutual agreement of the parties. The Amended TMLA may be terminated by VEL upon the occurrence of a number of specified events, including if:
• we materially damage the Virgin brand;
• we become insolvent;
• we fail to make use of the “Virgin Galactic” brand to conduct our business;
• we challenge the validity or entitlement of VEL to own the “Virgin” brand; or
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Upon any termination or expiration of the Amended TMLA, unless otherwise agreed with VEL, we will have 90 days to exhaust, return or destroy any products or other materials bearing the licensed trademarks, and to change our corporate name to a name that does not include any of the licensed trademarks, including the Virgin name.
Pursuant to the terms of the Amended TMLA, we are obligated to pay VEL quarterly royalties equal to the greater of (a) a low single-digit percentage of our gross sales and (b) (i) prior to the first spaceflight for paying customers, a mid-five figure amount in dollars and (ii) from our first spaceflight for paying customers, a low-six figure amount in dollars, which increases to a low-seven figure amount in dollars over a four-year ramp up and thereafter increases in correlation with the consumer price index. In relation to certain sponsorship opportunities, a higher, mid-double-digit percentage royalty on related gross sales applies. In the year ended December 31, 2020, we paid Virgin a total of $0.2 million under the Amended TMLA and its predecessor agreement. For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, the VG Companies made certain license and royalty payments of $0.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively, under the prior license agreement.
The Amended TMLA also contains, among other things, customary mutual indemnification provisions, representations and warranties, information rights of VEL and restrictions on our and our affiliates’ ability to apply for or obtain registration for any confusingly similar intellectual property to that licensed to us pursuant to the Amended TMLA. Furthermore, VEL is generally responsible for the maintenance, enforcement and protection of the licensed intellectual property, including the Virgin brand, subject to our step-in rights in certain circumstances.
All Virgin and Virgin-related trademarks are owned by VEL and our use of such trademarks is subject to the terms of the Amended TMLA, including our adherence to VEL’s quality control guidelines and granting VEL customary audit rights over our use of the licensed intellectual property.
Transition Services Agreements
At the closing of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, we entered into the U.S. Transition Services Agreement, pursuant to which we and Galactic Ventures LLC and Virgin Orbit, LLC, which had previously part of the same consolidated corporate group as the VG Companies, established a service schedule to control the provision of services among the parties. Virgin Orbit, LLC provides propulsion engineering, tank design support services, tank manufacturing services, office space access and usage services to us, as well as business development and regulatory affairs services. We provide office space, logistics, welding services, IT services, pilot utilization services, finance and accounting services, and insurance advisory services to Virgin Orbit, LLC. Galactic Ventures LLC will continue to provide IT services us for so long as such IT services have not been fully transitioned or the applicable contracts have not been assigned. We received $0.5 million and $0.2 million under the U.S. Transition Services Agreement in the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
At the closing of the Virgin Galactic Business Combination, we also entered into the U.K. Transition Services Agreement, pursuant to which certain of our employees based in the United Kingdom continue to receive access to certain third party and Virgin Group employee benefits services.
Compensation of Chief Astronaut Instructor
Our chief astronaut instructor, Natalie Beth Moses, is an immediate family member of Michael Moses, one of our executive officers. Mrs. Moses received approximately $328,119 in total compensation in 2020.