Lockheed Deal Sparks Investor Lawsuits Against Terran Co-Founder

Terran Orbital Corp.'s chief executive shortchanged shareholders when he engineered the space startup’s $450 million fire sale to Lockheed Martin Corp. after being offered a golden parachute, according to a group of lawsuits.

Former Terran investors are suing co-founder Marc Bell, the company’s chairman and CEO at the time of the $0.25-per-share deal, which included a $6 million bonus for him. The shareholder suits, including one unsealed Wednesday, say Bell “about-faced at the eleventh hour” after months of vocally opposing the “bargain basement” bid from the defense giant. Lockheed allegedly already controlled the satellite venture as its largest investor ...