Musk's SpaceX Preparing to Launch Tender Offer in Dec at $135/share, FT Reports

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla, attends the launch of SpaceX's Starlink internet service in Indonesia at a sub district community health center in Denpasar, Bali, May 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla, attends the launch of SpaceX's Starlink internet service in Indonesia at a sub district community health center in Denpasar, Bali, May 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Musk's SpaceX Preparing to Launch Tender Offer in Dec at $135/share, FT Reports

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla, attends the launch of SpaceX's Starlink internet service in Indonesia at a sub district community health center in Denpasar, Bali, May 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla, attends the launch of SpaceX's Starlink internet service in Indonesia at a sub district community health center in Denpasar, Bali, May 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Elon Musk's SpaceX is preparing to launch a tender offer in December to sell existing shares at a price of $135 per share, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the discussions.

The tender offer would value SpaceX at more than $250 billion, according to the report.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, according to Reuters.

Musk, the world's richest person, is expected to wield significant influence in Washington to secure favorable government treatment for his companies, including SpaceX, after Donald Trump's victory for a second presidency.

Musk's dream of transporting humans to Mars could also become a bigger national priority under Trump, Reuters reported earlier this month.

NASA's Artemis program, which aims to use SpaceX's Starship rocket to put humans on the moon as a proving ground for later Mars missions, is expected to focus more on the Red Planet under Trump and target uncrewed missions there this decade.

Under Trump, SpaceX is also expected to push for even softer regulations on worker safety and safety of participants in private space flights in orbit.

A Reuters investigation last year documented at least 600 worker injuries at SpaceX facilities across the US, and how SpaceX disregarded safety regulations and standard practices.



Tata Seals Deal with Pegatron for iPhone Plant in India's Tamil Nadu

FILE PHOTO: Apple iPhones are seen inside India's first Apple retail store during a media preview, a day ahead of its launch in Mumbai, India, April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Apple iPhones are seen inside India's first Apple retail store during a media preview, a day ahead of its launch in Mumbai, India, April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
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Tata Seals Deal with Pegatron for iPhone Plant in India's Tamil Nadu

FILE PHOTO: Apple iPhones are seen inside India's first Apple retail store during a media preview, a day ahead of its launch in Mumbai, India, April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Apple iPhones are seen inside India's first Apple retail store during a media preview, a day ahead of its launch in Mumbai, India, April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

India's Tata Electronics has agreed to buy a majority stake in Taiwanese contract manufacturer Pegatron's only iPhone plant in India, forming a new joint venture that strengthens Tata's position as an Apple supplier, two sources told Reuters.
Under the deal announced internally last week, Tata will hold 60% and run daily operations under the joint venture, while Pegatron will hold the rest and provide technical support, said the two sources, who declined to be named as the details are not yet public.
The sources did not elaborate on the financials of the deal.
Tata declined to comment, while Apple and Pegatron did not respond to Reuters queries on Sunday.
Reuters was first to report in April that Pegatron had the backing of Apple and was holding advanced talks to sell its only iPhone plant in India to Tata, marking the Taiwanese firm's latest scale back of its Apple partnership.
Apple is increasingly looking to diversify its supply chain beyond China amid geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington. For India's Tata, the Chennai Pegatron plant will bolster its iPhone manufacturing plans.
Tata is one of the largest conglomerates in India and has been fast expanding into iPhone manufacturing, rivaling the only other iPhone contract manufacturer operating in India, Foxconn.
The announcement for the deal's closure was made internally at the iPhone plant on Friday, said the first source.
The second source said the two companies plan to file for an approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in the coming days.
Tata already operates an iPhone assembly plant in the southern state of Karnataka, which it took over from Taiwan's Wistron last year. It is also building another in Hosur in Tamil Nadu, where it also has an iPhone component plant which was involved in a fire incident in September.
Analysts estimate India will contribute 20-25% of total iPhone shipments this year, from 12-14% last year.
The Tata-Pegatron plant, which has around 10,000 employees and makes 5 million iPhones annually, will be Tata's third iPhone factory in India.