SpaceX targets $1.75 trillion valuation in landmark planned IPO

Should SpaceX proceed with its anticipated stock market launch, the company intends to raise a maximum of $75 billion. Such a figure would easily surpass the previous $29.4 billion record set by Saudi Aramco seven years ago. The space exploration business is also pursuing an overall valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, according to Bloomberg and the Financial Times.

The Financial Times reported that corporate executives recently expanded their initial $50 billion capital-raising objective by an additional $25 billion during a Wednesday meeting with backers. At that proposed market capitalization, only five publicly traded American corporations would carry a higher value, the FT noted.

Regulatory paperwork for the share sale could be filed soon, setting up the company for a possible June trading start. The Financial Times reported that less than 5% of the company’s total shares will be offered.

Five major financial institutions—Bank of America $BAC, Citigroup $C, Goldman Sachs $GS, JPMorgan $JPM Chase, and Morgan Stanley $MS—have been selected to manage the transaction, though Bloomberg specified that individual bank responsibilities are not yet defined. Financial advisors are also debating unconventional lock-up strategies. The FT reported that options include entirely scrapping the standard six-month freeze on insider selling, or implementing a graduated system that permits early backers to liquidate their shares incrementally.

The push for a public listing follows a February all-stock buyout of xAI. That merger consolidated the Grok artificial intelligence project and the X $TWTR social network alongside Starlink, a broadband satellite operation that serves as SpaceX's primary source of cash flow, Bloomberg reported. The news outlet attributed the growing need for external capital to xAI's operations, which consume roughly $1 billion every thirty days to maintain and expand artificial intelligence hardware.

A December internal communication outlined how the influx of capital would be spent, Bloomberg reported. The planned investments include building a lunar outpost, funding orbital artificial intelligence hardware, and advancing the Starship vehicle.

The company might implement a special corporate governance framework to ensure Musk and other early backers retain voting dominance after the listing. Musk's personal equity share had dropped beneath the halfway mark due to extensive private financing from entities like Alphabet $GOOGL, Fidelity, and Founders Fund prior to the AI merger, Bloomberg reported.

News about the possible offering led to a quick rise in the stock prices of other public aerospace companies. The BBC reported that Sidus Space’s value went up by nearly 19%, Intuitive Machines rose by about 15%, and both Firefly Aerospace and Rocket Lab gained more than 10%.

An IPO reaching the desired market capitalization would likely push Musk's personal fortune—presently estimated by Forbes to exceed $820 billion—past the $1 trillion mark, the BBC noted.