March 31 - SpaceX has retained a large group of banks to manage its planned public listing, with at least 21 institutions involved in the underwriting effort, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process remains private.
The transaction, conducted under the internal code name Project Apex, is slated for a public offering in June and is estimated to put a $1.75 trillion valuation on the company controlled by founder and chief executive Elon Musk. Market watchers expect the debut to be one of the most closely monitored stock listings on Wall Street.
Lead banks and the wider syndicate
Five banks are serving as active bookrunners - the lead managers of the deal - and they are Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup, the people said. In addition, a further 16 banks have agreed to participate in smaller underwriting roles.
- Allen & Co
- Barclays
- Brazil's BTG Pactual
- Deutsche Bank
- The Netherlands' ING Groep
- Macquarie
- Mizuho
- Needham & Co
- Raymond James
- Royal Bank of Canada
- Societe Generale
- Banco Santander
- Stifel
- UBS
- Wells Fargo
- William Blair
About half of the participating banks' names have not been previously reported, underscoring the breadth of the syndicate. Sources said the banks are expected to divide responsibilities across institutional, high-net-worth and retail investor channels and across different geographic regions.
Process status and responses from banks
The arrangement remains subject to change, and the list of participating banks could be expanded as the offering process advances, the sources said. Texas-based SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several banks named in the syndicate declined to comment when contacted. Bank of America, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Santander and Wells Fargo all declined to comment, while other banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Syndicate size in context
Large underwriting groups have been used on recent mega listings. The people cited examples of other major offerings that enlisted similarly large numbers of banks, illustrating that multi-dealer syndicates have become a common approach for complex, high-profile IPOs.
Note: This article reports only the details available from people familiar with the matter and reflects those accounts; the plan is fluid and subject to confirmation and change by involved parties.