/sci/ - Science & Math

>>15711545
https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/28/astras-apollo-fusion-acquisition-followed-by-delays-and-desertion/

> An August 14, 2023 settlement agreement between Astra and Apollo Fusion holders, LinkedIn data showing an employee exodus, internal company documents, as well as interviews with multiple sources, exposes what will likely become a canonical cautionary tale on aerospace acquisitions. Astra did not respond to TechCrunch’s multiple requests for comment on this story.

> “It was a very schizophrenic thing where part of management was saying, ‘We have to invest, we have to do great things with Apollo,’ but there was no investment there. [There were] no hires,” the same person said, speaking of the months after the acquisition closed.

> A separate source said Astra displayed little interest in retention. “There was no interest in keeping talent,” the source said while describing the spacecraft engine business. “There were a lot of Apollo people that were looking to parachute out and more excited about getting out.”

> As time went on, the in-space propulsion team shrank while the launch side swelled, an issue that was compounded by Apollo Fusion members quitting and not being replaced. The majority of the Apollo Fusion team had cleared out by October 2022, less than 18 months after the acquisition closed. LinkedIn data shows that Astra eventually lost nearly every Apollo Fusion staffer, including the engineers that took the spacecraft engine product from clean sheet to flight heritage.

> Per the terms, Apollo shareholders will likely walk away with $7 million in cash to settle its disputes — a steep drop from the up to $95 million in cash-plus-stock performance-based earnouts the two firms agreed upon back in 2021.