SpaceX to mount IPO for Starlink
February 10, 2020
By Chris Forrester
Elon Musk’s SpaceX will reportedly spin-off its Starlink broadband-by-satellite system with an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
SpaceX is currently financing the development and launch of the Starlink system and has successfully placed 240 satellites into orbit.
“Right now, we are a private company, but Starlink is the right kind of business that we can go ahead and take public,” said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s COO, in quotes carried by Bloomber. “That particular piece is an element of the business that we are likely to spin out and go public.”
Shotwell was speaking to a group of delegates at an investment conference in Miami.
“This is going to turn SpaceX into a company that is providing service to consumers, which we are excited about,” Shotwell added.
The company has been launching roughly 60 satellites at a time into orbit, and with another four launches expects to have initial global coverage. Shotwell said that services will be “less than what you are paying now for about five to 10 times the speed you are getting.”