Social Capital Hedosophia VI (NYSE: IPOF) is subject to the latest round of SpaceX IPO rumors. Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings takes private companies public via its special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), focusing on innovative and agile technology companies.
Chamath Palihapitiya’s SPACs were hot property in 2020 but fell out of favor last year. Some notable Social Capital SPACs include Clover Health (NASDAQ: CLOV), Opendoor (NASDAQ: OPEN), SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI), and Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE).
Dumping Virgin Galactic for SpaceX?
Palihapitiya abruptly stepped down from Virgin Galactic’s company board last week, fuelling the rumors SpaceX could be a Social Capital target. With Richard Branson in charge of Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk heading up SpaceX, the two companies are rivals. So, Palihapitiya’s involvement in both may pose a conflict of interest.
Whether IPOF stock will merge with SpaceX is purely speculative, and nothing has been confirmed. There are plenty of other possibilities and other IPOF target rumors in the investor chatrooms.
IPOF stock has risen 2.6% in the past five days and is up again pre-market, hovering around the $10.30 mark. SPAC stocks tend to hover around $10 until their merger target has been named.
SpaceX is the 20-year-old NASA rival intent on transporting humans to Mars. It’s also championing global satellite broadband coverage and lunar landers.
Being an Elon Musk company, SpaceX has amassed a cult following, and its progress is closely followed on social media. It’s therefore sure to be a hotly-tipped IPO when it comes to pass.
However, the alternative view is that Musk would prefer to take SpaceX public via IPO or direct listing over the controversial SPAC route.
Who has invested in SpaceX?
SpaceX has already amassed more than $7.5bn in funding rounds with notable investors. These include the United States Space Force, Sequoia Capital, T. Rowe Price Group Inc., Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Alphabet Inc., Baillie Gifford, and Spectre.
Who has invested in IPOF?
Several institutional investors own shares in IPOF stock. As of Q4 2021, 121 funds owned IPOF in their portfolios.
Some holders as of December 2021 include:
Cowen and Company (6.5m shares valued at $67m)
FNY Investment Advisers (67k shares valued at $677k)
Picton Mahoney Asset Management (1.1m shares valued at $11m)
Bank of Montreal (1.5m shares valued at $16m)
Jane Street (3.3m shares valued at $33m)
