Elon Musk’s SpaceX reportedly valued at $175 billion or more in tender offer
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has initiated discussions about selling insider shares at a price that values the closely held company at $175 billion or more, according to people familiar with the matter.
The most valuable U.S. startup is discussing a tender offer that could range from $500 million to $750 million, said some of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. SpaceX is weighing offering shares at about $95 apiece, the people said.
Terms and the size of the tender offer could change depending on interest from both insider sellers and buyers.
A $175-billion valuation is a premium to the $150-billion valuation the company obtained through a tender offer this summer. The increase would make SpaceX one of the world’s 75 biggest companies by market capitalization, on par with T-Mobile USA ($179 billion), Nike ($177 billion) and China Mobile ($176 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
SpaceX’s Starship Mars rocket makes it farther than the last test flight, but the uncrewed ship and booster are lost.
Representatives for SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Hawthorne-based company dominates the market for commercial space launch services with its Falcon rockets. SpaceX also sends payloads to orbit for private-sector customers, as well as for NASA and other government agencies.
SpaceX also operates its internet-from-space Starlink service, anchored by a growing constellation of satellites in low-Earth orbit.
SpaceX is on track to book revenues of about $9 billion this year across its rocket launch and Starlink businesses, Bloomberg News reported last month, with sales projected to rise to around $15 billion in 2024. The company is also discussing an initial public offering for Starlink as soon as late 2024 — a bid to capitalize on robust demand for communications via space.
This was the first launch attempt of the company’s massive Starship moon rocket, which is crucial for the future of both SpaceX and U.S. plans for human space exploration.
