Elon Musk’s SpaceX begins trading on Wall Street today after raising $75 billion in a record initial public offering that values the company at $1.77 trillion.
The rocket-to-satellite-to-AI company sold 555,555,555 Class A common shares at $135.00 per share, placing SpaceX among the world’s largest public companies ahead of its trading debut. The listing could also make Musk the world’s first trillionaire later today, depending on how the stock performs.
The banks guaranteeing the deal have an over-allotment option to purchase another 83.3 million shares, which will raise the size of the initial public offering to about $86 billion.
The demand was heavy. SpaceX has attracted orders for more than three times the shares on offer, with strong interest from institutional and retail investors. This can support the stock at the start of trading, as buyers who missed out on the stock, or got less than they wanted, try to buy in the open market.
The demand came despite some investors questioning the valuation, with SpaceX’s price reaching 92 times last year’s revenue.
Marex Financial, which handled the UK retail side of the IPO, said just over 60% of UK investors who applied received their full allocations. Investors who applied for up to $2,700, or £2,013, were allocated full shares, rounded to the nearest whole share.
Marx said:
“Investors in the retail offer who applied for up to $2,700 (£2,013) were allotted in full, rounded to the nearest whole share. Those who applied for more than this amount were rounded off, with a maximum of 1,000 shares allocated to any such investor.”
This meant that 61% of investors in the UK retail offering received their full allocation, while those who wanted more than £2,000 worth of shares were downsized.
