Richard Branson talks $1.5B NY IPO deal with Grove Collaborative: 'It's going to change business'
Sir Richard Branson invests in eco-friendly disrupter
Billionaire investor and entrepreneur discusses his new venture with Grove Collaborative on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
A company backed by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group announced a merger with sustainable-consumer-products seller Grove Collaborative Inc. to take it public in a deal valued at $1.5 billion on Wednesday.
The San-Francisco-based company has emerged as a leader in the direct-to-customer natural product market and intends to use the collaboration to expand its line of eco-friendly home and personal-care products.
Virgin Group founder and chairman Sir Richard Branson told Fox Business on Wednesday that it was the company's mission to operate plastic-free by 2025 that won the position of his SPAC target.
VIRGIN GALACTIC'S RICHARD BRANSON REACHES SPACE IN TEST FLIGHT, PART OF FURIOUS SPACE TOURISM RACE
"It's going to change business for the good and I think if you only live once, you might as well try to invest in companies that have a purpose and disrupt, and that’s exactly what it’s doing," Branson said on "The Claman Countdown."
The combined company will be led by Stuart Landesberg, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Grove Collaborative. Branson said it was clear from his first interaction with Landesberg that "their business was absolutely the kind of business that Virgin loves to invest in."
"It’s a great business, it's got a brilliant management team headed up by Stu, it’s completely aligned with Virgin’s purpose, it can grow and it can innovate quickly, and it already has access to millions of customers," he said.
VIRGIN ORBIT TO LAUNCH THIRD FLIGHT IN DECEMBER, DOUBLE PACE IN 2022