Terran Orbital CEO ‘looking at everything’ after Lockheed Martin takeover bid

Satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital is “looking at everything” regarding the company’s future, CEO Marc Bell told CNBC, as it considers Lockheed Martin’s acquisition offer.

“We found out about [Lockheed’s takeover bid] when the rest of the world found out about it,” Bell said on CNBC’s “Manifest Space” podcast.

Lockheed’s proposal submitted last week values Terran Orbital at nearly $600 million, or about a third of its equity valuation from when the company went public via a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, two years ago. The defense giant is already a significant stakeholder in Terran Orbital, with a 28.3% stake at the time of the proposal.

Terran Orbital declined to comment on a shareholder lawsuit filed Wednesday in response to the company’s board adopting a “poison pill” stock rights plan after Lockheed’s offer.

Bell emphasized that Lockheed has been “a partner of ours for many years,” but noted that Terran Orbital hired Jefferies in December to lead a strategic review of its path forward, with options ranging from new investors to a potential sale of the company.

“We’ve had many conversations with many people and continue to run our process. We have no deadline to our process, and our goal is to have maximum value for all of our shareholders,” Bell said.

Bell added that Terran Orbital is “thrilled with the validation” that Lockheed’s offer gave it.