SpaceX IPO: The largest in history

Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to today’s edition of the Daily Open newsletter.

So much has been said about this historic IPO that it’s time to let the markets decide — and today is the day.

As “Squawk Box Europe” anchor Steve Sedgwick opined in the CNBC newsroom this morning, there is nothing that can be said between now and the moment of trading that will change people’s minds on SpaceX stock — you already know if you love it or hate it.

Let’s wait and see which way the wind is blowing for the launch at 09:30a ET, 14:30 London time.

SpaceX will complete the largest IPO in history when Elon Musk’s group debuts on the Nasdaq later today. Pricing at $135 a share, the group is raising $75 billion at a valuation of $1.77 trillion. It makes SpaceX the seventh most-valuable U.S. company and looks set to propel Musk to become the world’s first trillionaire.

It’s also been a boon for others who invested in SpaceX in its early days. Among the biggest beneficiaries are veteran stock picker Ron Baron, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest and mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments.

SpaceX is allocating a smaller-than-expected portion of its blockbuster initial public offering to retail investors, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC’s Leslie Picker. She writes, “the reduced allocation suggests institutional demand for the shares has been strong as investors compete for access to the hottest IPO in recent years. Even with a smaller allocation, the retail tranche would still rank among the largest ever for a U.S. IPO of this size.”

On Wall Street, stock futures are higher ahead of the IPO, and following a solid rally on Thursday. Equities turned positive after U.S. President Donald Trump made a sharp U-turn on Iran, saying a peace deal with Iran will be signed in “the next few days.”

Trump had earlier said that he would hit Iran “very hard” and take over oil infrastructure, including Kharg Island.

Speaking from the Oval Office later Thursday, Trump said the U.S. “just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” subject to the “finalization of documents.” He suggested the signing could take place as early as this weekend, and would be led by JD Vance.

— Leonie Kidd