Elon Musk denies report SpaceX may sell some of its shares amid $200 billion valuation

By Barbara Kollmeyer and James Rogers

Elon Musk has dismissed a report that privately held SpaceX aerospace company is considering selling existing shares.

A tender offer of those shares that would value the company at around $200 billion is being discussed and could possibly take place in June, Bloomberg reported late Thursday, citing sources. The offer would allow employees and investors to sell SpaceX shares at roughly $108 to $110 each, the sources said. Late last year, Bloomberg reported another tender offer that valued SpaceX at around $180 billion.

On social-media platform X, Musk, the CEO and founder of SpaceX, said that the company had "no need for additional capacity and will actually be buying back shares." He said liquidity rounds for investors and employees are held around every six months.

Related: Elon Musk and SpaceX hit reusable-rocket milestone with Starlink satellite launch

SpaceX has not yet responded to a request for comment on this story.

Alphabet-owned (GOOGL) Google and fund manager Fidelity are among investors in SpaceX, alongside others such as billionaire investor Ron Baron.

A relatively new publicly traded fund, Destiny Tech100 Inc. (DXYZ), also offers individual investors exposure to private tech companies such as SpaceX.

The Private Shares Fund, which was established in 2014, also provides exposure to private space companies. The aerospace sector makes up about 12.9% of the portfolio.

"The space economy is one of our big verticals," Christian Munafo, chief investment officer at Liberty Street Advisors - which is the advisor to the fund - told MarketWatch earlier this week. Munafo noted that SpaceX, Axiom Space, Relativity Space, Voyager Space, and Xplore are among the companies in the portfolio.

Money manager Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, predicted earlier this year that an IPO process for SpaceX could start in 2025 or 2026. Regal Point owns SpaceX shares via Baron's Focused Growth Fund.

Related: For Elon Musk and SpaceX, 'the third time's the charm' for Starship flight test

In April, the aerospace company hit a reusable-rocket milestone after launching 23 Starlink satellites atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. IPO talk circled Starlink, which provides low-cost internet in remote locations, late last year. However, Elon Musk denied an IPO.

According to Bloomberg estimates, SpaceX likely booked revenues of $9 billion last year for its rocket launch and Starlink, which provides low-cost internet in remote locations.

In May 2020, the SpaceX Demo-2 test flight made history when it launched NASA astronauts into space from Kennedy Space Center atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The test flight was the first crewed launch from U.S. soil since the final space shuttle mission, STS-135, in 2011.

On March 3, 2024, SpaceX launched Crew-8, its eighth crew rotation to the International Space Station and its ninth flight with astronauts, including Demo-2. The Crew-9 mission is planned for no earlier than August, according to NASA.

Related: These are the space stocks to keep an eye on in 2024

This week NASA said that the historic first crewed launch of rival Boeing Co.'s (BA) Starliner spacecraft has been pushed back from May 25, marking the latest delay for the landmark mission.

In March SpaceX launched the third uncrewed flight test of its giant Starship and Super Heavy rocket. The largest rocket ever built, Starship provides more than twice the thrust of the Saturn V rockets that took astronauts to the moon. Together, Starship and the Super Heavy Rocket are 396 feet - taller than the Statue of Liberty and the Saturn V.

In a post on X late Thursday Musk wrote that the next Starship flight test will be in about 10 days.

-Barbara Kollmeyer -James Rogers

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05-24-24 0842ET

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