Successfully launching payloads into low-Earth orbit, private aerospace company SpaceX is still formally a startup; a planned deal to sell its shares at $185 a share increased its capitalization to $350 billion, turning SpaceX into the most valuable private company in the world – previously the leader was ByteDance (owner TikTok) with a valuation of $300 billion. In terms of capitalization, SpaceX now surpasses many public companies.
Image source: SpaceX
Less than three months ago, the price of SpaceX shares did not exceed $112, so its increase by 65% to $185 in such a short time suggests growing investor interest in this private aerospace company of Elon Musk. Perhaps the optimism of investors was affected by the victory in the US presidential elections of Donald Trump, whose close associate was the founder of SpaceX. This event, according to some estimates, increased Musk’s personal wealth to $384 billion.
The transaction for the so-called secondary placement of shares, which is private, according to Bloomberg, provides for the sale of SpaceX shares for a total amount of $1.25 billion. Of these, the number of shares equivalent to $500 million will be sold by SpaceX itself, and the remaining volume will be sold by the company’s existing shareholders . It’s also difficult to deny SpaceX’s commercial successes, so the growth of the company’s capitalization is influenced not only by the political successes of like-minded people of Elon Musk. SpaceX acts as a contractor for NASA and the Pentagon, provides aerospace services to various companies, and also operates the Starlink satellite communications network.