Biggest-ever IPO: Retail investors line up, bid over $70 billion for SpaceX

SpaceX’s initial public offering has attracted more than $70 billion in orders from retail investors, according to people familiar with the matter, as the potentially record-breaking debut enters the home stretch.

Retail investors are expected to be allocated at least 20% of the available shares, the people said. At a $75 billion IPO size, which would be the largest on record, that allocation would leave the bulk of demand from individual investors unfulfilled.

Leaving large numbers of Elon Musk’s fans empty-handed in the IPO would likely amplify demand for the shares once they begin trading. Musk has attracted a strong retail following throughout his tenure leading Tesla, with the cohort owning about 40% of the company’s shares, according to BNP Paribas analyst James Picariello’s estimates.

Terms of the offering, such as the price of $135 per share and the number of shares at 555.6 million are unlikely to change, some of the people said. SpaceX would raise about $75 billion in a deal valuing the rocket, satellite and AI company at around $1.8 trillion, based on the outstanding shares in its filings. The IPO is expected to rank as the biggest ever, topping Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion debut in 2019.

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