Terran orbital CEO Mark Bell told employees on Monday that the company is not looking for a buyer in an attempt to quash a report that it is seeking offers by the end of the month, according to sources who spoke to TechCrunch. Bell’s comments came during a comprehensive meeting with employees, after A.J Wall Street Journal article Reports that the satellite manufacturer is up for sale.
In a separate WSJ email that was sent to all employees, Bell said the WSJ got the story “very wrong” and “we are working with them to correct it.”
“My goal is to keep us independent and turn us into the Prime Minister. Nothing has changed.”
He also had some inflammatory words for the group of investors, who collectively represent about 8% of Terran shares, who are leading the campaign to replace Bell and reconfigure the board:
“As far as criticizing shareholders, the whole thing is a joke,” he says in the email. “We forget that the board and management have over 30 million shares (they have 16 million) but we have casually polled investors and over 100 million shares say they agree with the direction we are taking and fully support us. We also have 100% support from the board.” “The company recently filed a lawsuit against one of Sophis’ goons and we will sue them all in due time. They will eventually go away.”
The last two lines refer to the investor group, led by Sophis Investments, and the recent lawsuit filed by Terran against Austin Williams (the company’s former CTO) and co-founder of Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, the company that now makes up the bulk of the company. Tiran works.
“We are not looking for a buyer,” Bell said, according to sources who attended the meeting. Instead, he told employees that if the board (which he chaired) decided to go private, Bill and his longtime business partner Dan Seid would buy the company themselves.
Bell said the company is looking for strategic investors, such as Lockheed Martin – a major investor in the company and a major customer.
Terran Orbital did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. TechCrunch will update the article if Terran Orbital responds.
His statements contradict a regulatory filing published by Terran Orbital on Monday. in This depositThe company confirmed that it is engaged in a “formal review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value,” a process that could include a sale of the company, among other outcomes.
The news caused Terran’s stock price to collapse, with the stock’s value falling nearly 25% – from $1.03 at yesterday’s close to about $0.77 as of publication date. The company’s shares have been hovering under the dollar almost constantly since the end of August. The company faces the imminent threat of delisting if it cannot raise its share price.
It’s a sharp decline for the company, which was trading at $10.96 after going public in March last year.