Reuters reports that SpaceX is collaborating with at least 21 banks for its upcoming initial public offering in June in what represents one of the largest underwriting syndicates in recent years. Sources familiar with the matter stated the offering is internally designated as Project Apex. The planned listing is projected to bring the valuation of the rocket manufacturer controlled by founder and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to $1.75 trillion. The substantial size of this banking consortium highlights the extensive scale and complexity of the share issuance. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup will serve as active bookrunners to lead the transaction.
Sixteen additional financial institutions have signed on to support the lead banks in secondary capacities. Approximately half of these participating names have not been previously reported. The supplementary roster includes Allen and Company, Barclays, BTG Pactual, Deutsche Bank, ING, Macquarie, Mizuho Securities, Needham and Company, Raymond James, Royal Bank of Canada, Societe Generale, Santander, Stifel, UBS, Wells Fargo and William Blair. These institutions are expected to manage specific responsibilities across institutional, high net worth and retail investor pipelines as well as various geographic regions. People close to the matter noted that the issuance framework remains subject to adjustments and additional banks could still join the syndicate.
Expansive underwriting syndicates have become increasingly standard for supersized market debuts in recent years. Chip designer Arm partnered with nearly 30 banks for its public listing in 2023. Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba assembled a comparably sized underwriting team for its record breaking market debut in 2014.