Mega IPO: SpaceX seen raising $75 billion in share offering, valuation skyrocketing to $1.77 trillion
Plan to sell shares could pull off largest-ever initial public offering (IPO)
SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has unveiled plans for what could become the largest initial public offering (IPO) of all time, as it sets it sights on making humans "multiplanetary".
The company founded by Elon Musk targets a valuation of about $1.75 trillion to $1.77 trillion, and is seeking to raise roughly $75 billion through the sale of new shares.
The company has reportedly set an IPO price of $135 per share and is aiming to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX later this month, AP reported.
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At 555.6 million shares offered at $135 apiece, it would give SpaceX a market value of $1.77 trillion.
Only six companies in the S&P 500 are currently worth more, with Nvidia tops at $5.2 trillion.Besides the size of the offering and the expected proceeds, SpaceX’s amended prospectus updates details about how much control of the company Musk will have.
Musk's voting power
As SpaceX’s CEO, chief technical officer and chairman, Musk’s voting power will come primarily through his ownership of 5.22 billion Class B shares, which give the holder 10 votes for every share held.
According to the filing, Musk would have 82.4% of the voting power in the company.
Forbes currently values Musk’s net worth at $826 billion and his stake in SpaceX at $542 billion.
The estimated proceeds from the SpaceX IPO would easily top the $26 billion raised by oil giant Saudi Aramco in 2019.
Time will tell how SpaceX fares on the market.
Musk’s plans for the company are as fantastical as the money he hopes raise in the sale.
'Frightening' SpaceX plans
AP reported that colorful, even "frightening” in parts mentioned in the IPO document strike a contrast with the typically dry, technical prose in IPO documents.
It details plans to use proceeds from the sale to help put men on the moon again and perhaps even Mars.
In one section, it talks of a need to build “a permanent human colony” on the Red Planet with “at least one million inhabitants” as existential threats loom that could consign man to “the same fate as the dinosaurs.”
Market debuts
And SpaceX isn’t the only colossal market debut investors are now bracing for.
Earlier this week, Anthropic submitted a confidential filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to officially start its own IPO clock.OpenAI has not yet reported filing the initial SEC paperwork, but an IPO from the ChatGPT maker is widely expected.
Through a dual-class share structure, Musk is expected to retain more than 80% of voting power after the IPO.
Some analysts recently argued that SpaceX's fair value may be closer to $780 billion, less than half the IPO target, citing uncertainty around future businesses such as orbital AI data centers and the company's continued losses.
The IPO is slated for June 11, with trading expected shortly thereafter.
