Key insights
- Gulf wealth funds are reportedly placing multi-billion dollar orders for SpaceX's IPO, signaling strong demand and a significant realization of value from their AI-related investments. This large institutional interest, particularly from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, could boost investor sentiment towards technology and space exploration companies. While the direct impact on the broader US equity market may be limited, it highlights significant capital flows into high-growth sectors and the increasing influence of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds in global capital markets.
Investing.com -- Gulf wealth funds have reportedly placed orders worth several billion dollars for shares in SpaceX's initial public offering.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Kuwait Investment Authority have each ordered shares valued between $1 billion and $5 billion, according to a report from Bloomberg News that cited people familiar with the matter. The $580 billion Qatar Investment Authority is also expected to make a large commitment.
Entities from the region already hold stakes in Elon Musk's rocket, satellite and AI company. Many are holding large paper gains based on the billionaire's target valuation of $1.8 trillion, the report said. The amount of the planned investment intended to prevent dilution of existing holdings after SpaceX's listing remains unclear.
SpaceX last week set the price of its initial public offering at $135 per share a week before its planned market debut, a move that bypasses the traditional Wall Street book-building process. The company in a filing said that it plans to sell 555.5 million shares at $135 each, in a move that underscores Elon Musk’s willingness to chart his own course in the capital markets.
The Gulf interest is part of a wider surge of demand for the deal from global institutional investors. Orders have surpassed the number of shares available.
Middle Eastern petrostates have invested billions of dollars in AI, funding startups, chip infrastructure companies, data centers and industry founders. The SpaceX IPO represents the first major realization of value from these investments. The offering comes as the Iran war threatens to slow Gulf countries' AI plans domestically.