BlackRock has entered an order to buy at least $5 billion worth of SpaceX shares as the private space company moves toward a public listing, according to people familiar with the matter. The scale of BlackRock's request is matched by similar large orders from other asset managers, highlighting unusually heavy interest among institutional buyers.
Those order sizes far exceed what is typically observed in conventional initial public offerings. While it is common for asset managers to take significant positions in IPOs, the quantities being sought for SpaceX stand out for their size relative to standard allocations.
Demand from individual investors was also substantial. People familiar with the process said retail demand topped $70 billion in total requests. The company drew interest from a range of private investors, including sovereign wealth funds and family offices. One family office alone submitted an order in excess of $1 billion, according to the same sources.
SpaceX closed its order book on Wednesday. Bankers working on the deal are now in the process of deciding how to distribute the shares among the competing orders. That allocation work is being completed in advance of a planned listing scheduled for Friday.
This wave of orders underscores the concentrated appetite for SpaceX stock from both institutional and private buyers ahead of the listing. Market participants are in the allocation phase, where decisions on how to parcel shares among high-volume applicants will determine final distributions.
Key facts from the reported order book activity include the following: BlackRock placed an order for at least $5 billion; other large asset managers submitted orders of similar scale; individual investor requests exceeded $70 billion; sovereign wealth funds and family offices participated, with at least one family office ordering more than $1 billion; the order book closed on Wednesday and bankers are allocating shares before a planned Friday listing.
The information available is limited to the order sizes, participating investor types, the timing of the book's closure and the schedule for bankers to determine allocations. No additional details about pricing, final allocation decisions or the precise number of shares requested by each participant were provided.