A prominent Danish pension fund that previously made waves by dumping US Treasuries has reportedly announced that it will boycott the upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO) of SpaceX, citing severe overvaluation and a deeply flawed corporate governance model. According to a report by Bloomberg, AkademikerPension, which manages $25 billion in assets, has blacklisted the aerospace giant despite its massive target valuation of at least $1.8 trillion. Anders Schelde, the fund’s chief investment officer, stated in an email that SpaceX is not only grossly overvalued but is also hindered by a catastrophic governance structure.Elon Musk’s Spacex officially filed for its IPO on May 20 and is scheduled to begin formal marketing efforts next month. However, analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence indicates that the filing reveals significant governance concerns, primarily centered around the fact that it grants Elon Musk near-absolute control of the enterprise.Schelde emphasized that even if the financial valuation were reasonable, the fund would still feel compelled to exclude SpaceX from its portfolio. This decision stems from the expectation that Musk will command roughly 80% of the company’s voting rights while simultaneously acting as chief executive, chief technology officer, and chairman of the board.The financial friction is further compounded by recent corporate consolidations. In February, SpaceX announced the acquisition of Musk’s xAI, a deal that absorbed the social media platform X and the chatbot Grok. Bloomberg News reported at the time that the transaction valued SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion.According to AkademikerPension’s independent calculations, SpaceX cannot reasonably exceed a valuation of $1 trillion, leading Schelde to conclude that the fund could not justify participating in the IPO from an investment-return perspective. The fund warned that investors are effectively being asked to accept an unprecedentedly low risk premium for a highly uncertain company where pricing appears to be driven more by Musk’s narratives than by actual economic realities.Schelde clarified that the decision is not a reflection of the quality of SpaceX’s technology or engineering expertise, noting that the fund would otherwise like to invest in its innovations if the valuation and governance risks were mitigated.
NYC Comptroller Levine’s alarm letter to Elon Musk
Earlier this month, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, alongside New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and California Public Employees’ Retirement System CEO Marcie Frost, in a joint letter to SpaceX executives, raised objections to the reported proposed governance structures of SpaceX, which is preparing for its initial public offering. The investors hold combined assets under management exceeding $1 trillion for millions of working and retired public servants, including teachers, firefighters, police officers, nurses, and their beneficiaries.“Sound governance is fundamental to a company’s long-term success, and we are concerned about the many glaring governance red flags including a lack of genuine checks and balances for Elon Musk as CEO,” Comptroller Levine said. “The current proposed structure makes it nearly impossible to ensure strong safeguards are in place to preserve the company’s financial and reputational value, limits transparency, thwarts the opportunity for accountability, and overall, dangerously undermines investor rights. If SpaceX is committed to starting off on the right foot, and earning the trust of potential shareholders, they will adopt governance practices that support their sustainable and long-term growth in earnest.”“The reported governance structure for SpaceX presents significant risks to long term-investors,” Comptroller DiNapoli said. “As reported, these provisions include super voting shares for a select few, mandatory arbitration of shareholder claims, nearly insurmountable barriers to executive accountability, and limits on shareholder legal actions. This structure would leave shareholders with virtually no recourse over how the company conducts business. This is anathema to the transparency and legitimate board oversight required for a major publicly traded corporation. As SpaceX is poised to occupy a position of systemic importance in the public markets, its governance must at the bare minimum adhere to the baseline protections upon which long-term institutional capital depends.”
