Billionaire investor Ron Barron told CNBC on Friday that he expects SpaceX to IPO its Starlink satellite Internet service in “2027 or later.”
“By the time they go public with SpaceX, with Starlink, in 2027 or so, we think the company will be worth $250 billion to $300 billion,” Barron told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Barron is a major backer of Elon Musk’s companies. Tesla and SpaceX are Barron Capital’s two largest holdings. Earlier this month, Baron told MarketWatch His ownership of SpaceX stock in his namesake company was currently worth about $1.7 billion.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment Friday.
The company’s leadership, including Musk, discussed winding down Starling to take it public through an initial public offering once the business was in a “smooth environment.” But the timing of the Starlink IPO remains uncertain. Last year, Musk told employees he was unlikely to bring in business people until 2025 or later.
Earlier this month, Musk announced that Starlink had “achieved breakeven cash flow,” though he did not specify whether that milestone was hit on an operational basis or over time. SpaceX has launched more than 5,000 Starlink satellites to date, and says the service has more than two million subscribers.
SpaceX’s valuation has risen to around $150 billion, with Starlink seen as a key economic driver of the company’s goals.
Asked why Musk, who has run it privately since its founding in 2002, would take a public stake or all of his space company, Barron said “a lot of people have been investors for a long time, and they need to get out.”
“I’ve never wanted to leave in my lifetime, but there are people who want to leave,” Baron said.
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