Billionaire investor Ron Baron told CNBC on Friday that he expects SpaceX to IPO its Starlink satellite web service “in 2027 or so.”
“We expect that by the point they go public with SpaceX, with Starlink … in 2027 or so, 4 years, the corporate can be price $250 billion to $300 billion,” Baron said, talking to CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Baron is a serious backer of Elon Musk’s firms. Tesla and SpaceX rank as two of Baron Capital’s largest holdings. Earlier this month, Baron told MarketWatch his eponymous firm’s ownership of SpaceX stock was currently valued at about $1.7 billion.
SpaceX didn’t immediately reply to CNBC’s request for comment Friday.
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The corporate’s leadership, including Musk, have discussed spinning off Starlink to take it public through an initial public offering once the business was “in a smooth sailing situation.” But timing of a Starlink IPO stays uncertain. Last 12 months, Musk told employees that taking the business public wasn’t likely until 2025 or later.
Earlier this month, Musk announced that Starlink “achieved breakeven money flow,” although he didn’t specify whether that milestone was hit on an operating basis or for a specified time period. SpaceX has launched greater than 5,000 Starlink satellites so far and says the service has greater than two million subscribers.
SpaceX’s valuation has soared to about $150 billion, with Starlink seen as a key economic driver of the corporate’s goals.
Asked why Musk would take public part or all of his space company, which has been private since its founding in 2002, Baron said “loads of people have been investors for a very long time, and so they probably want exits.”
“I don’t desire an exit in my lifetime, but there are individuals who want exits,” Baron said.
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