Morgan Stanley leads banks vying for SpaceX IPO - report

Morgan Stanley (MS) is leading the competition to underwrite SpaceX's (SPACE) highly-anticipated initial public offering, given its close ties to Elon Musk, the aerospace company's CEO, according to a media report on Friday.

The selection process is still ongoing, with Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) vying for key roles in the IPO, Reuters reported, citing four people familiar. And it remains uncertain if Morgan Stanley will indeed win the prized "lead left" underwriting position, the people added.

Musk's relationship with Morgan Stanley (MS) is long-standing, as the investment bank helped underwrite Tesla's (TSLA) 2010 IPO and led the bank group financing Musk's X buyout a few years ago. That, in turn, has positioned MS as a leading contender to run the underwriting syndicate for the SpaceX (SPACE) offering, three of the people told Reuters. 

Ahead of a possible 2026 IPO, the rocket and satellite maker was said to have recently commenced a secondary share sale that would value the SpaceX (SPACE) at $800B

SpaceX (SPACE), Morgan Stanley (MS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) all did not immediately respond to Seeking Alpha's request for comment.