Elon Musk’s SpaceX is poised to become the most valuable U.S. startup

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is poised to become the most valuable U.S. startup

17 May    Finance News

Article content

Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX is poised to become the most valuable U.S. startup as its valuation rose to over $125 billion in an ongoing share sale in the secondary market, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The shares, which are marketed at about $72, jumped in valuation from last October, when SpaceX’s shares were sold at $56 apiece after a 10-1 split and valued the rocket company at $100 billion.

No new shares have been issued in the secondary offering, but the company indicated to investors that they may do so later this year, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified.

Advertisement 2

Story continues below

Article content

The share sale could value SpaceX at over $125 billion, surpassing fintech giant Stripe, which was valued at $115 billion in a secondary sale.

It could not be learned how many shares have been made available for sale by the company. It is common for highly valued private companies to offer shares in the secondary market to introduce liquidity for early investors and employees.

Reuters could not determine if Chief Executive Elon Musk, who owns 44% of the SpaceX and signed a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter Inc, are among the sellers. Musk is also the chief executive of Tesla Inc.

See also  China’s property sector draws closer to exit from protracted slump

SpaceX did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The New York Post first reported on the private placement on Monday.

Advertisement 3

Story continues below

Article content

In the capital-intensive business, SpaceX has raised $337.4 million in December and $1.16 billion in equity financing last April, according to regulatory filings.

The company competes with former Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos’s space venture Blue Origin and billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic in the burgeoning constellation of commercial rocket ventures.

SpaceX has already launched numerous cargo payloads and astronauts to the International Space Station for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), including 19 rocket launches this year alone.

(Reporting by Krystal Hu; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Advertisement

Story continues below

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *