Tue, Dec 15, 2009
Arab Investors Hope To Have A Piece Of The Commercial Space
Action
A group of Arab investors looking
to buy a piece of Virgin Galactic has raised red flags in
Washington, where the proposed deal is undergoing government
scrutiny.
The Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States
(CFIUS), a function of the Treasury Department, has opened an
investigation into the proposed sale, reported to be worth $280
million. Aabar Investment of Abu Dhabi, which is led by Sheikh
Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling
family, hopes to buy 32 percent of the commercial space venture
which unveiled its new SpaceShip Two last week. The committee
investigating the terms of the sale includes the Secretary of
Treasury, as well as representatives of the departments of Defense
and Homeland Security.
The Times of London reports that Virgin Galactic has been
ordered to re-file its application for sale, and include more
detailed information due to the complexity of the proposed deal.
While Virgin Galactic President Will Whitehorn said that he had
“absolute confidence" the sale would go through,
representatives of Aabar are less sure. They cited what they see as
a growing concern about the perception of Arab investors in the
U.S.
One possible reason for the CFIUS scrutiny is that Burt Rutan,
head of Scaled Composites, possibly does work for the U.S.
Government, which would trigger such an investigation. Another,
according to the Times, is that the Virgin Galactic business model
includes possibly placing small satellites in orbit, which would
have national security implications.
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