Virgin Orbit’s Would-Be White Knight and a $200 Million Rescue That Fell Flat
As the fortunes of Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit were crashing to Earth last month, a little-known investor called Matthew Brown appeared offering a $200 million rescue.
Within two days of being contacted by Brown, Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart had secured board backing for a preliminary agreement with the 33-year-old Texas-based investor, according to related documents and email exchanges reviewed by Reuters and three people with knowledge of the discussions.
“We have had our board meeting this morning with agreement to move forward, so I now have the buy-in I need,” Hart told Brown in a March 21 email seen by Reuters….