SpaceX IPO: Elon Musk’s firm sees massive oversubscription as institutional orders top $10 billion
SpaceX’s blockbuster initial public offering has attracted more than $10 billion in orders from institutional investors, signalling strong demand for what could become the largest IPO in history, according to Bloomberg sources.Banks managing the offering are expected to stop accepting orders from institutional investors after US markets close on Wednesday, giving them time to assess demand and finalise allocations ahead of the listing.The Elon Musk-led rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence company is scheduled to price its IPO on June 11 and begin trading on June 12 on Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas under the ticker symbol SPCX.
The US market listing process allows institutional investors to place orders before the final share price is determined. SpaceX is currently collecting investor demand through its book-building process, where banks are collecting orders and gauging investor demand before finalising share allocations. While the offer price has been set at $135 per share, the final distribution of shares among investors will be determined before trading begins.SpaceX is offering 555.6 million shares at a fixed price of $135 each. The offering is expected to raise about $75 billion and value the company at roughly $1.8 trillion.Demand has been strong enough for the IPO to be described as heavily oversubscribed, with investors placing orders far exceeding the number of shares available.As part of the final marketing push, Morgan Stanley hosted around 300 institutional investors at its New York headquarters on Tuesday for meetings with senior SpaceX executives, including President Gwynne Shotwell and Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen.Anticipation surrounding the IPO has intensified in recent weeks as SpaceX unveiled new revenue streams linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company recently announced a cloud services agreement with Google that will see the tech giant pay $920 million a month through 2029. SpaceX had earlier disclosed a similar arrangement with AI startup Anthropic.If successful, the listing would surpass Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion IPO in 2019, making it the largest public offering ever.
Retail investors can still participate: Here’s how
While institutional order books are set to close on Wednesday, retail investors can still submit orders for SpaceX shares through select platforms beyond the institutional deadline.SpaceX has earmarked up to 30 per cent of the offering for retail investors, giving individual investors access to one of the most closely watched public listings in recent years.Investors can place orders through participating brokerage platforms that offer access to US IPO allocations. Availability may vary depending on the platform and jurisdiction.The shares are being offered at a fixed price of $135 each. However, as with most heavily oversubscribed IPOs, retail investors may receive fewer shares than requested if demand exceeds the number of shares available.SpaceX shares are expected to begin trading on June 12 under the ticker symbol SPCX, with investors closely watching whether the company can justify its nearly $1.8 trillion valuation once public trading begins.
