SpaceX reportedly has discussed IPO underwriting matters with non-U.S. institutions

Regarding the progress of the largest IPO in human history, there is new news on Wednesday.

According to informed sources, after the four major Wall Street top-tier banks—JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley—were confirmed as the lead underwriters for SpaceX’s public listing, efforts to build a global underwriting syndicate are also ongoing.

It is reported that a group of non-U.S. institutions visited SpaceX’s California office collectively in mid-last month, competing to have their logos printed on the prospectus. One group of meetings was composed of European banks, while institutions from other regions were divided into another group.

Sources say that bankers are encouraged to articulate a core point: why their respective institutions hold an irreplaceable and important position within their regions.

Before the merger with xAI this week, SpaceX’s IPO was already recognized as the largest fundraising in history, with potential proceeds reaching up to $50 billion. Such a large-scale deal is likely to require a massive underwriting syndicate to push it forward. For example, Alibaba, a prominent Chinese concept stock, raised $25 billion in its 2014 NYSE IPO, with 35 underwriters listed.

Following the acquisition of xAI, SpaceX is estimated to be valued at $1.25 trillion, with SpaceX itself valued at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion.

Considering the rumors that the potential IPO window is around Musk’s birthday in June, there is little time left for all parties to make decisions.

Earlier reports also indicated that the space giant under the world’s richest man is considering reserving a significant portion of shares for retail investors, while the internet brokerage Robinhood, known as the “home of retail investors” in the U.S., is actively seeking to play an important role in this IPO. Musk, a longtime Tesla stockholder and a fan, is also actively lobbying to gain priority access to subscribe to SpaceX shares.

Typically, retail investors in the U.S. IPO process are considered secondary players. Wall Street firms usually allocate shares first to institutional buyers capable of setting the price, then release them into the open market for trading. However, in recent years, emerging tech companies like Robinhood, Airbnb, and Uber have started reserving IPO shares for their users, breaking the traditional model.

(Source: Cailian Press)