Goldman Sachs has been tapped to lead what could become the most valuable initial public offering ever staged. SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite internet company, is reportedly preparing to go public at a valuation that would make every previous IPO look quaint by comparison.
The deal size is reported at up to $75B, with an anticipated valuation somewhere between $1.75 trillion and north of $2 trillion. For context, Saudi Aramco’s 2019 IPO, the current record holder, valued the oil giant at roughly $1.7 trillion. SpaceX would leapfrog that on day one.
The numbers behind the rocket math
Goldman Sachs has reportedly been selected as the lead left underwriter, the most prestigious position in an IPO’s banking syndicate. Other major banks are expected to serve as co-underwriters, though specific names haven’t been confirmed.
The gap between SpaceX’s private market valuation and its projected IPO price is striking. Recent private equity sales valued the company at approximately $180B to $210B. An IPO at $1.75 trillion or higher would represent roughly an 8x to 10x jump from those private market levels.
