Alphabet Just Revealed a $94 Billion Stake in SpaceX -- and It Can't Sell a Single Share Yet
A $1 billion bet from 2015 has turned into one of the biggest investment wins in corporate history. Selling is another matter.
Overview
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) gave investors plenty to debate in its second-quarter report this week, from 24% revenue growth to another big increase in its capital spending plans. But I'd argue the most remarkable number sat in the company's quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Alphabet's stake in rocket maker SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) was worth about $94 billion as of June 30.
Zoom out, and the history behind that figure is extraordinary. In January 2015, Google and investment firm Fidelity together put $1 billion into SpaceX for a combined stake of just under 10%. SpaceX now carries a $1.5 trillion market value -- about 150 times what the entire company was worth in that funding round.
Details
But Alphabet can't spend a dollar of its windfall yet. The filing shows the whole position is restricted from sale. About $80 billion of the stake sits under short-term restrictions (the standard lockup period that follows an initial public offering), and the remaining $14.1 billion is locked up through the third quarter of 2027.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.