The investment into Space Exploration Technologies Corp. – or SpaceX – was the first investment made by a new department, formed in April, in the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, called Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP), reports CBC Canada.
Olivia Steedman, TIP’s senior managing director, says everyone is excited to be working with SpaceX, particularly as it rolls out its Starlink satellite network. Teachers identified SpaceX as a “compelling investment opportunity” because of its “proven track record of technology disruption in the launch space and significant future growth potential in the satellite broadband market.”
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan held $191.1 billion in assets as of Dec. 31. However, according to the Financial Post, they did not disclose the size of the investment, nor did they wish to comment further on Thursday.
This is SpaceX’s third equity round after raising $486 million and $536 million in two rounds earlier this year. In this latest round, SpaceX is actively seeking $314 million at a price of $214 per share. Before this latest round, SpaceX’s valuation had risen to $33.3 billion, people familiar told CNBC in May.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has good reason to be interested in Elon Musks’ Starlink, a network of thousands of small internet satellites. The project will rely on more than 11,000 satellites sitting in Earth’s low orbit working together to create a high-speed Internet network. Musk estimates SpaceX could earn $300 billion a year in revenue from Starlink.
