In a landmark move reminiscent of technological giants like Anthropic and OpenAI, it has been reported that SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has exceeded its targeted fundraising amount by approximately four times, reaching a staggering $750 billion. This IPO is expected to be the largest in history.
SpaceX, a company specializing in rockets, satellites, and artificial intelligence, is set to debut on Nasdaq on Friday, June 12th, with an IPO that far surpasses Saudi Aramco’s record-setting $29.4 billion in 2019.
According to sources who chose to remain anonymous to Bloomberg, the banks managing the IPO are expected to halt the acceptance of institutional investors’ subscription orders after the New York stock market closes on Wednesday, June 10th. Closing the order book allows the banks to assess market demand and provide pricing advice to the company. The issuance price is expected to be determined on Thursday, June 11th, with trading commencing the following day.
Elon Musk’s team plans to issue 5.556 billion shares at a fixed price of $135 per share, raising approximately $750 billion and valuing SpaceX at around $1.8 trillion.
Insiders have revealed to Reuters and Bloomberg that SpaceX has attracted over $250 billion in investor demand, far exceeding the initial target of $750 billion, which is expected to further elevate the company’s valuation.
Due to the sensitive nature of the information, these sources have requested anonymity. They stated that the oversubscription rate for this deal has already reached 3.5 to 4 times the planned issuance size. Bankers and investors have noted the robust market demand once again.
Another source mentioned that long-only funds have submitted substantial orders, with Musk briefly participating in meetings with potential investors via Zoom.
The company is currently in the midst of market promotion activities. On Tuesday, June 9th, Morgan Stanley hosted a lunch meeting at its Manhattan headquarters, welcoming around 300 institutional investors to meet with top SpaceX executives, including President Gwynne Shotwell and CFO Bret Johnsen. This event was chaired by Morgan Stanley’s Co-Head Dan Simkowitz.
The IPO is being led by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan, with 18 banks participating. SpaceX shares are expected to be listed on Nasdaq and the Nasdaq Texas exchange under the symbol “SPCX.”
Investor demand may still fluctuate before the IPO price is announced on Thursday afternoon. As the current subscription numbers only reflect investor intentions and not final allocation quantities, the actual allotments will be determined at the pricing stage.
It is noted that some major institutional investors often wait until the later stages of the IPO process to submit subscription orders. After the deadline on Wednesday, retail investors can still place subscription orders for SpaceX shares through specific platforms. The company plans to allocate up to 30% of the issue to retail investors.
SpaceX has yet to comment on these developments.
This issuance comes amidst significant market volatility, with stock markets and cryptocurrencies in regions such as the US, Europe, and Asia experiencing a downturn in recent days.
Analysts speculate that one of the reasons for the market decline could be related to potential buyers of SpaceX selling stocks and cryptocurrencies to raise funds for IPO subscriptions.
SpaceX’s roadshow presentation and IPO documents emphasize the uniqueness of its rocket launch business. The company stated that over the past three years, it has sent the vast majority of global space payloads into orbit and highlighted the strength of its Starlink internet business. SpaceX is optimistic about the future market opportunity of its AI products, estimating a $23 trillion market potential.
Furthermore, SpaceX asserted that it is currently the only company capable of breaking free from earthly constraints and utilizing space to establish AI computing power. The company foresees substantial demand for this technology in the future, addressing the bottleneck of computing power on Earth. Musk also expressed intentions to lease excess AI computing power to other companies.
In early May, Google disclosed its discussions with SpaceX about constructing multiple AI space data centers for AI computation and data storage. It is anticipated that more companies will engage in discussions with SpaceX on this matter.
These details provide an in-depth look into SpaceX’s groundbreaking IPO and its potential to revolutionize the aerospace and artificial intelligence industries on a global scale.