SpaceX bankers prepare for potential US$20 billion bond offering, sources say

⁠SpaceX’s bankers are preparing to meet investors as early as next week to discuss a bond offering of at least US$20 billion, two sources familiar with the matter said ‌on Thursday, as Elon Musk’s newly public company seeks funding for an ambitious and capital-intensive AI expansion.

SpaceX’s AI ambitions come with a steep price tag, requiring tens of billions of dollars in investment for data centres, computing hardware and power infrastructure.

The offering ⁠would mark the first time the rockets-to-AI company has issued investment-grade dollar ‌bonds. The size of the offering is not yet set and may change, the source said.

Proceeds from the ‌debt offering would refinance a US$20 billion bridging loan that SpaceX ⁠took out ⁠earlier this year, after acquiring Musk’s AI start-up xAI in February.

Bank of America, Citigroup, ‌JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley provided the bridge financing and are expected to run ‌the ‌deal, one of the sources said.

The rockets-to-AI company’s valuation surged ‌past US$2 trillion following its blockbuster Nasdaq debut last week. Its shares soared ⁠in their first two days of trading before giving up some gains ⁠as investors assessed whether the company’s rich valuation can be justified by its costly AI push.