FILE PHOTO: SpaceX logo and Elon Musk photo are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
SAN FRANCISCO: SpaceX is moving forward with an insider share sale that values Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite maker at about US$800bil, setting up what could be the largest initial public offering (IPO) of all time.
In a company message seen by Bloomberg, SpaceX said it’s preparing for a possible public offering next year that would be aimed at funding an “insane flight rate” for its developmental Starship rocket, artificial intelligence data centres in space and a base on the moon.
The per-share price of US$421 in its latest secondary offering, laid out by chief financial officer Bret Johnsen in the memo to shareholders, is nearly double the US$212 a share set in July at a US$400bil valuation.
The valuation vaults past the previous record of US$500bil that ChatGPT owner OpenAI set in October, making SpaceX once again the world’s most valuable closely held company.
If Musk decides to proceed with the IPO, it would be another splashy venture for him, but it would hinge on a series of ambitious and risky plans that SpaceX would have to pull off in the coming years.
SpaceX is moving ahead with plans for an IPO that would seek to raise significantly more than US$30bil in a transaction that would make it the biggest listing of all time, Bloomberg reported earlier last week.
The Musk-led company is targeting a valuation of about US$1.5 trillion for the entire company, which would leave SpaceX near the market value that Saudi Aramco established during its record 2019 listing.
The timing of the IPO and the corresponding valuation is uncertain, and the company may decide not to move forward, Johnsen said in the email.
A representative for SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The company does tender offers twice a year, giving shareholders including employees the chance to cash in or buy more shares.
In this case, SpaceX has set its fair market valuation in a precursor to an IPO next year.
The world’s most prolific rocket launcher, SpaceX dominates the space industry with its Falcon 9 rocket that lifts satellites and people to orbit.
SpaceX is also the industry leader in providing Internet services from low-Earth orbit through Starlink, a system of thousands of satellites that serves millions of customers. — Bloomberg
