SpaceX’s next-generation Starship spacecraft is launched atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket for its sixth test on November 19, 2024 at the company’s Boca Chica launch pad in Brownsville, Texas.
Joe Skipper | Reuters
Elon Musk’s SpaceX valuation hits $350 billion based on secondary share sales, CNBC confirmed Wednesday.
SpaceX, as well as investors, agreed to buy the stock for $185 a share in a $1.25 billion purchase offer, according to a copy of the offer obtained by CNBC. The round does not include raising new capital, as the purchase offer represents a secondary sale of existing shares.
Notably, SpaceX is buying $500 million in common stock as part of the offering, a rare share buyback that demonstrates the strength of the privately held company’s financial position.
The company regularly performs these secondary rounds — about twice a year — to give employees and other shareholders the opportunity to sell stock. The latest valuation represents a 67% increase from SpaceX’s previous high of $210 billion, which the company hit through a June secondary share sale.
SpaceX’s rising valuation comes as the company advances its dominant position in the space industry, while Musk has become an influential figure in the incoming presidential administration.
The aerospace company has a near monopoly on the US satellite launch market, led by its workhorse Falcon rocket, as its rivals have struggled to field operational rockets to compete.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite Internet business is a key economic driver for the company, with nearly 7,000 satellites launched to date and a service boasting nearly five million subscribers.
Meanwhile, its monstrous Starship is moving forward in flight tests, representing an effort to build a next-generation reusable rocket of unprecedented scale and power.
SpaceX’s latest valuation puts the company higher than the market value of leading US defense contractors. Among US companies in the S&P 500, SpaceX ranks in the top 25 by market cap, among Johnson & Johnson And Bank of AmericaAccording to FactSet.
The company did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the sale process. Bloomberg first reported SpaceX’s price per share at $185.
In response to a social media post about selling SpaceX shares, Musk wrote that “almost no investors wanted to sell shares” at the new $350 billion valuation.
“SpaceX has reduced the amount of shares it is buying back from employees to allow for some new investors,” Musk wrote.
