Terran Orbital Corporation, a US-based satellite services provided backed by aerospace and defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin, has agreed to a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp.
The deal will give the combined company a listing on the New York Stock Exchange and a pro forma enterprise value of $1.58bn. Tailwind Two went public in March this year in a $300m initial public offering.
The deal is supported by $50m in private investment in public equity financing provided by Lockheed Martin, Fuel Venture Capital, AE Industrial Partners, Beach Point Capital and private investor Daniel Staton.
Founded in 2013, Terran Orbital manufactures small satellites for the US government and private customers. It plans to build a $300m facility in the state of Florida designed to be one of the most advanced and vertically integrated satellite manufacturing plants in the world, churning out more than 1,000 satellites and space vehicles each year.
Lockheed Martin’s corporate venturing arm, Lockheed Martin Ventures, took part in the company’s $36m series B round in 2018 alongside investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and Beach Point Capital. The unit also took part in a 2017 round that closed at $7m, according to a regulatory filing.
Marc Bell, Terran Orbital’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “With our high volume, innovative manufacturing of small satellites, we will be able to deliver emerging technologies to space faster, more affordably and with greater reliability than anyone. Fundamentally, we are creating the new SaaS, Satellites-as-a-Service.
“In addition, our industry-leading earth observation constellation will deliver images of any geography on earth, at any time of day or night, within minutes. This capability will unlock a high-growth, high-margin data-as-a-service business model that will be truly transformational for Terran Orbital, its customers and investors.”
