Virgin Orbit Dumps Dubious $200-M "White Knight" Rescue

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, Joey Roulette and Kevin Krolicki reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: The potential deal to rescue Virgin Orbit failed to launch.

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.

The potential deal with Brown unraveled in less than a week with Virgin Orbit severing contact and threatening to take legal action against him if he revealed confidential details about the potential investment, with the company saying Brown’s credentials were dubious.

The company, which had been worth $3.8 billion in late 2022 and counted the US military among its biggest clients, filed for Chapter 11 this week.

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