Exclusive-SpaceX accelerates IPO timeline, targets June 12 listing on Nasdaq, sources say

By Echo Wang and Anirban Sen

NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite maker SpaceX plans to price its blockbuster initial public offering as early as June 11 and has chosen Nasdaq as the listing venue, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

SpaceX, which will trade under the ticker symbol ‘SPCX’, has accelerated its IPO timeline and is aiming to make its prospectus public next Wednesday, with a roadshow launch on June 4 and a launch target as early as June 12, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The new plan for an IPO in the second week of June represents a faster-than-expected timeline for SpaceX’s offering, touting a process initially targeted for late June — around Musk’s birthday. The sources requested anonymity because the talks were private.

A quicker-than-expected review of the company’s IPO paperwork by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was partly responsible for the company’s move to push out its listing timeline, the sources added.

SPCX was the ticker symbol for Tuttle Capital Management’s SPAC-focused ETF before the company moved to the SPCK exchange in April. This move at the time triggered speculation that SpaceX had the potential to option new existing stock.

Reuters was first to report in March that SpaceX was moving to list its shares on Nasdaq to seek early inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 index.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nasdaq declined to comment. The SEC was not immediately available for comment.

Nasdaq recently introduced much-anticipated ‘fast track’ rules to accelerate the entry of large newly listed companies into its benchmark Nasdaq-100 index. Other leading index operators have also implemented similar rules to fast-track new listings against their own criteria.

The push for faster entry into the top indexes comes as value-rich startups such as Anthropic and OpenAI prepare to go public. Exchange operators are trying to speed up the IPO pipeline amid concerns about the rapidly shrinking number of publicly traded companies in the US.

SpaceX is likely to aim to raise around $75 billion at a valuation of around $1.75 trillion, which would make it the largest stock market IPO of all time, Reuters previously reported. The $1.75 trillion target represents a significant step up from the $1.25 trillion combined valuation set when SpaceX merged with Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI in February.

Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, ⁠JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are among the IPO’s leading bookrunners, along with 16 other banks with smaller roles spanning institutional, retail and international channels.

(Reporting by Echo Wang and Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by Megan Davies, Chizu Nomiyama and Rosalba O’Brien)