Spacex in talks to raise nearly Us$1bil

NEW YORK: Billionaire Elon Musk’s Spacex is in talks to raise nearly Us$1bil (Rm4.51bil) in a new round that would value the rocket-launch and satellite company at about Us$150bil (Rm676.9bil), sources say.

The ongoing talks offer Spacex’s share at about US$85 (RM383) apiece, up from the Us$125bil (Rm564.1bil) valuation the company fetched earlier this year, sources told Reuters, suggesting strong investor appetite while many late-stage venture capital-backed startups have to cope with valuation cuts.

Bloomberg News first reported the raise on Tuesday. Spacex did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Investors could buy new shares issued by Spacex or from employees who opt to sell via a private placement or tender offer. According to one of the sources, the primary raise could be worth nearly Us$1bil.

As one of the most valuable private companies in the world, Spacex has regularly provided liquidity programmes for employees so they can sell their shares in the secondary market without the company going public.

Musk has said he plans to provide similar shares and liquidity programmes for Twitter, the social media company he took private in a Us$44bil (Rm198.6bil) deal.

Spacex competes with Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos’s space venture Blue Origin and billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic in the burgeoning constellation of commercial rocket ventures.

Spacex launched Falcon Heavy, the world’s most-powerful active rocket, for the first time in more than three years. It is also targeting early December to launch its giant Starship rocket system into orbit for the first time.