The much-anticipated moment has finally arrived! SpaceX officially finalized its IPO price on Thursday at $135 per share, corresponding to a corporate valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion. This half-year-long capital carnival that broke many traditional listing rules has come to an end. If the listing of SpaceX is popular, the aerospace track will soon usher in a wave of listings.
Sierra Space technicians debug the "Dream Chaser" space plane in 2023
Two people familiar with the matter revealed that Sierra Space has started preparations for an IPO and could be listed as soon as this year. The listing of the Colorado-based satellite company, which was spun off from aerospace giant Sierra Nevada Group in 2021 and was last valued at $8 billion, would allow early investors to quickly achieve a large exit.
Sierra Space is not the only one aerospace company planning to land in the capital market following SpaceX.
People familiar with the matter said that Vast Space, which is headquartered in Los Angeles and specializes in commercial space station research and development, is negotiating for a listing, and the listing window is set at the end of this year or early next year. The company was established in 2021 and completed US$500 million in financing in March this year. The funds were used to develop space stations in low-Earth orbit, the moon, and Mars orbits.
Another source said that Axiom Space, which is headquartered in Texas and is committed to building the world's first commercial space station, aims to complete its IPO within a year. The company was valued at $2.5 billion last year, with investors including the Qatar Investment Authority and Donald Trump Jr.'s 1789 Capital.
However, the specific listing time of the above-mentioned companies has not been finalized.
It is not surprising that aerospace companies are planning to go public: rocket manufacturing and satellite launch tracks require huge amounts of continuous investment.
Take Sierra Space as an example. By the end of last year, more than half of the $1.7 billion in financing for NASA to develop the Dream Chaser space plane had been consumed. In March of this year, with the support of Ketu Capital, BlackRock, and General Atlantic Investment Group, the company raised another US$550 million, and its business focus shifted to defense military industry orders such as the U.S. Space Force.
SpaceX’s IPO raised a record US$75 billion, opening a financing window for public investors for the rest of the private aerospace startups.
SpaceX’s listing also set the valuation-revenue multiple standard for subsequent aerospace targets—this valuation premium is extremely high. The company’s full-year revenue last year was less than $19 billion. Investment banks can refer to this multiple to price subsequent aerospace companies, but it is almost impossible for other companies to obtain the same valuation premium as Musk's companies.
If SpaceX’s stock price rises sharply after it goes public, funds will flock to other aerospace targets. This craze will not only attract secondary market investors, but private equity investment institutions will also increase investment in aerospace startups, especially startups founded by former SpaceX employees.
反之，若 SpaceX 上市后股价表现疲软，市场对航天赛道的投资热情将快速降温。数年前大批航天企业借壳 SPAC 特殊目的收购公司上市，众多普通投资者因此亏损，前车之鉴犹在。
当下航天赛道投资站在分水岭：要么像火箭一飞冲天迎来黄金时代，要么泡沫破裂、行情急转直下。