SpaceX Selects Goldman Sachs for Record-Breaking IPO

SpaceX has chosen Goldman Sachs to participate in its record-breaking initial public offering (IPO), according to a prospectus filed by the company on Wednesday. The transaction is expected to yield significant financial returns and could position Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriter for other high-profile IPOs, such as those of OpenAI and Anthropic. SpaceX's IPO is anticipated to be the largest in history, with the company's valuation reaching $1.25 trillion in its latest acquisition round. Goldman Sachs will hold the prominent 'lead left' position in the IPO prospectus, likely overseeing the final allocation, pricing, and valuation of shares, and receiving the largest share of underwriting fees. Matt Kennedy, a senior IPO strategist at Renaissance Capital, noted that executing a transaction of this magnitude could be complex but highly lucrative. Sources indicate that SpaceX's IPO is expected to be at least twice the size of Alibaba's $25 billion IPO in 2014, which paid $300.4 million in commissions to underwriting banks, about 1.2% of the total transaction size. Other major IPOs, such as Meta's in 2012 and Uber's in 2019, also had underwriting fees slightly above 1%. Based on similar rates, SpaceX's IPO could generate over $500 million in underwriting fees. For context, Goldman Sachs reported total equity underwriting revenue of $535 million last quarter.