EXCLUSIVE-SpaceX has held talks with Saudi fund for possible $5 billion investment in IPO, sources say

By Akash Sriram and Echo Wang

NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX has had discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund about PIF potentially taking an anchor stake of around $5 billion in the space company’s IPO, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The investment would partly prevent dilution of PIF’s existing stake of just under 1% in SpaceX, the sources said.

The rocket maker has been lining up anchor investors well ahead of its stock market debut, three other sources said. The company aims to raise a record-breaking $75 billion, which would dwarf previous mega-IPOs such as Saudi Aramco in 2019 and Alibaba in 2014.

SpaceX is trying to gauge investor interest for a deal of this unprecedented scale, the sources said, requesting anonymity because the talks are confidential. No final decision has been made, and any investment remains subject to change, the sources cautioned.

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. PIF declined to comment.

Anchor investors are institutional buyers who typically commit to a fixed stake ahead of an IPO roadshow, signaling confidence and helping underpin demand for the offering. While SpaceX courts big-ticket anchor investors, a significant portion of the allocation is expected to go to wealthy investors served by the underwriting banks, Reuters reported previously.

The company, based in Starbase, Texas, submitted confidential IPO paperwork with the SEC recently and is targeting a market launch later this year.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Echo Wang in New York, additional reporting by Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen; Editing by David Gregorio)

((e.wang@thomsonreuters.com))