Goldman Sachs takes lead on SpaceX IPO as prospectus expected Wednesday

Goldman Sachs will take the lead left seat for SpaceX’s initial public offering, positioning the firm as the most prominent player in what could become the biggest IPO of all time, according to CNBC

Morgan Stanley comes next. BofA, Citi, and JPMorgan complete the rest of the senior positions. This brings the SpaceX IPO out of the internal process and into the execution stage.

SpaceX filed its S-1 confidentially back in April. Its public filing can come as soon as this Wednesday, which would make this the first time SpaceX’s books have been open to the public. The document needs to be available at least 15 days before the investor roadshow, scheduled to begin the week of June 8.

The IPO aims to raise between $70 billion and $75 billion with a valuation range of $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion. The xAI acquisition that took place in February valued the merged firm at $1.25 trillion.

Up to 30% of the shares will be sold to retail investors, which is triple the normal percentage for big IPOs.

Why the lead left position matters

Lead left is the most coveted role in an IPO underwriting syndicate. The bank in that spot runs pricing, manages the order book, and also gets the maximum fees.

For a $75 billion raise, total underwriting fees could reach $1 billion or more. Goldman winning the position over Morgan Stanley, which had been reported as the lead in some earlier accounts, settles a months-long contest between Wall Street’s two biggest IPO banks.

As Cryptopolitan reported last week, the underwriting team has been courting investors outside the traditional US institutional buyer pool, including overseas retail channels, to place the unprecedented volume of stock.

Beyond the top five, at least 16 additional banks are working on the deal in smaller roles, including Barclays, Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Wells Fargo.