SpaceX Makes Secret IPO Filing, Eyes $1.75 Trn Valuation in Potential Record Debut

Elon Musk's SpaceX has confidentially submitted documents for a US initial public offering (IPO) that could become the largest stock market listing in history, Bloomberg News first reported.

The filing is part of an internally planned process codenamed Project Apex, with the listing expected to take place as early as June, according to earlier reports.

SpaceX could seek to raise more than $50 billion through the offering, surpassing the $29.4 billion raised by Saudi Aramco in 2019, which currently holds the record for the world's largest IPO.

The planned listing follows SpaceX's merger with Musk's artificial intelligence venture xAI. That deal valued SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion. The combined entity is now being discussed at a potential IPO valuation of more than $1.75 trillion, which would make it one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world. SpaceX was last valued at around $800 billion in a secondary share sale, according to Reuters.

Wall Street's Big Names Lead the Deal

This comes after it was reported that SpaceX is working with at least 21 banks to manage the listing. Five of Wall Street's largest institutions are serving as lead managers, known in banking terms as "active bookrunners". These are Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup, according to an earlier report by Reuters.

A further 16 banks have taken on supporting roles, including Allen & Co, Barclays, BTG Pactual, Deutsche Bank, ING Groep, Macquarie, Mizuho, Needham & Co, Raymond James, Royal Bank of Canada, Société Générale, Banco Santander, Stifel, UBS, Wells Fargo, and William Blair.

SpaceX and the Artemis Programme

The filing comes as NASA launched four astronauts on Wednesday on the Artemis II mission, a 10-day journey around the Moon and the most ambitious US space mission in over 50 years. The mission marks the first crewed flight of Boeing and Northrop Grumman's Space Launch System rocket and Lockheed Martin's Orion capsule, both of which have faced criticism over delays and rising costs.

SpaceX is not part of Artemis II. However, the company plays a central role in the broader Artemis programme, and has been specifically tasked with developing the Starship Human Landing System for the Artemis III mission and future Moon landings.

SpaceX currently puts more rockets into space than any other company. Its ambitions stretch far as the firm aims to return humans to the moon, colonise Mars, place artificial intelligence data centres in orbit, and expand its Starlink satellite internet service, which already provides connectivity across much of the globe and is increasingly used in military operations.

A successful IPO is expected to generate strong demand from both retail and institutional investors, with some attracted by Musk's profile and others looking to gain exposure to SpaceX's rapidly growing space and satellite businesses, the report added.