SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket will launch during its sixth test at the company's Boca Chica launch pad in Brownsville, Texas, on November 19, 2024.
Joe Schipper | Reuters
The valuation of Elon Musk's SpaceX reached $350 billion following a secondary stock sale, CNBC confirmed Wednesday.
SpaceX, as well as investors, agreed to buy shares from insiders in a $1.25 billion purchase offer at $185 per share, according to copies of the offer obtained by CNBC. The round does not involve raising new capital as the purchase offer represents a secondary sale of existing shares.
Notably, SpaceX is buying as much as $500 million worth of common stock as part of the offering, in a rare share buyback that demonstrates the strength of the private company's financial position.
The company conducts these secondary rounds routinely – about twice a year – to give employees and other shareholders the opportunity to sell shares. The latest valuation represents a 67% increase over SpaceX's previous record of $210 billion, which the company achieved through a secondary stock sale in June.
SpaceX's rising valuation comes as the company continues to expand its dominant position in the space industry, while Musk has become an influential figure in the incoming presidential administration.
The space company has a near-monopoly in the U.S. satellite launch market, led by its workhorse Falcon rockets, as its rivals struggle to bring operational rockets to market to compete.
SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet business is a major economic driver for the company, with approximately 7,000 satellites launched to date and a service with approximately five million subscribers.
Meanwhile, the monstrous spaceship continues to make progress in flight tests, representing an attempt to create a next-generation reusable rocket of unprecedented scale and power.
SpaceX's latest valuation places the company higher than the market value of the top U.S. defense companies. Of the American companies in the S&P 500, SpaceX would be in the top 25 in terms of market capitalization, between 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 stock price at $185 per share.
Musk wrote in his response to a social media post about SpaceX's stock sale that “almost no investors wanted to sell shares” at the new $350 billion valuation.
“SpaceX reduced the number of shares it bought back from employees to bring in new investors,” Musk wrote.
