- The valuation of Elon Musk’s SpaceX hit nearly $150 billion after a share sale by existing investors was announced this week, CNBC learned.
- SpaceX has reached an agreement with new and existing investors to sell up to $750 million worth of stock from insiders at a price of $81 per share, according to a copy of the tender offer obtained by CNBC.
The valuation of Elon Musk’s SpaceX hit nearly $150 billion after a share sale by existing investors was announced this week, CNBC learned.
SpaceX has reached an agreement with new and existing investors to sell up to $750 million worth of stock from insiders at a price of $81 per share, according to a copy of the tender offer that CFO Bret Johnsen made on sent Thursday and received by CNBC.
The company did not announce a new capital increase at this time because the purchase offer was a secondary sale of existing shares. Musk said in April that the company “does not anticipate raising funds” to continue to strengthen programs for Starship, Starlink, and other initiatives. SpaceX typically conducts these second rounds about twice a year to give employees and other shareholders in the company a chance to sell shares.
A Starship prototype stands at the company’s launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas on March 16, 2022.
SpaceX
The new share price represents an increase of approximately 5% over the previous secondary sale at $77 each at a valuation of approximately $140 billion. SpaceX did not respond to a CNBC request for comment on the purchase offer.
Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal previously reported on the company’s plan to sell shares.
Still considered one of the most valuable private companies in the world, SpaceX is categorized as a “Centicorn” or “Hectocorn” — a unicorn worth $1 billion, 100 times that much.
The company has built a virtual monopoly in the US satellite launch market thanks to its Falcon rockets, the workhorse, and its competitors’ struggle to deploy operational rockets to compete. Last month, SpaceX landed an orbital rocket for the 200th time and launched 47 times so far this year. With this, the company achieves a rapid average of one launch every four days.
Musk’s company has launched nearly 5,000 of its Starlink internet satellites to date. The service has grown to more than 1.5 million subscribers in less than three years since its debut. SpaceX also predicted that “Starlink will be making money in 2023” after the company posted positive cash flow over the past year. Last month, the company landed a Pentagon contract to provide Starlink services in Ukraine for an undisclosed amount.
SpaceX continues to invest heavily in the development of its next-generation Starship rocket. Musk expects the company to spend around $2 billion developing the vehicle this year. The first Starship flight took off from the launch pad and achieved several milestones, but also encountered several problems. SpaceX is preparing for a second launch attempt in the coming months, but is awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to do so. The FAA is also conducting an environmental lawsuit over the regulation of SpaceX’s spacecraft.
However, SpaceX is silent on the possible IPO of its Starlink business. President Gwynne Shotwell said earlier this year that there was “no update”. Last year, CNBC reported that Musk told his employees that the company likely wouldn’t list Starlink until 2025 or later.