SpaceX said in talks to raise fresh funds at US$125b value: sources

ELON MUSK'S SpaceX is raising a funding round that would value the launch and satellite company at US$125 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The funding round that's in the works would give SpaceX the mantle of being the highest valued US startup on record, according to data from CBInsights.

This is a jump from its last valuation of US$100 billion that the company reached late last year in a funding round, one of the people added, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

Investors are in talks to buy new shares in the company at the same time that employees are offering to sell shares via a private placement at the same valuation, the people said. It's not uncommon for secondary share sales at big private companies to be done concurrently with a regular funding round.

The shares are being offered in a so-called employee tender offer at US$70 each, the people said. That compares with a split-adjusted US$56-a-share during a sale in October at a valuation of about US$100 billion.

It's unclear whether Musk is selling stock as part of the employee tender, the people said. The size of the offering couldn't immediately be determined.

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SpaceX didn't respond to requests for comment. The New York Post reported the share-placement plan earlier.

Musk has been seeking a variety of funding sources to complete his agreement to purchase Twitter. On Tuesday (May 17), he declared he wouldn't proceed with the deal unless the social media company can prove bots make up fewer than 5 per cent of its users. BLOOMBERG