Virgin Orbit Receives Help From Good Samaritan Brown

 A 33-year-old Texas-based investor has turned angel in disguise for Virgin Orbit, saving it from a fiscal collapse.

 What’s The Issue?

The Chief Executive of Virgin Orbit, Dan Hart, secured board backing in the next 48 hours after being contacted by Brown for a preliminary agreement with the investor, intimating the same to him via an email on March 21, stating, "We have had our board meeting this morning with an agreement to move forward, so I now have the buy-in I need." On the same day, he also sent out an encouraging note through email to the staff, the majority of whom had been granted a temporary absence from work to save cash during the time the company had halted its business, earlier in March. He also stated in it that Long Beach, a California-based company, would begin an "incremental resumption" of operations, ruling out any chance of full resumption of operations.

The Controversial Part

Based on related documents and email exchanges reviewed by Reuters as well as three people with knowledge of the discussions, an inference has been drawn about a potential deal with Brown in which Virgin Orbit has threatened to sever contact and take legal action against him if he revealed confidential details about the investment.

This statement came in view of the March 23 interview of Brown on CNBC where he revealed he was in "final discussions" to finalise a $200 million investment in Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit within 24 hours. He received a letter from the company’s lawyer for breach of a non-disclosure agreement due to divulging the nature of the talks in the interview. After this day, Virgin Orbit's cratering stock price bounced more than 60%. The interview also disclosed that Brown was nearing a deal for a proposed investment in the company, citing the term sheet signed by Hart and Brown and the planned closing date of March 24.