This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 6:22 a.m., May 22, 2026.
As SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company, heads toward a record-sized initial public offering (IPO), there is an outlook that Hyundai Elevator, which invested 18 billion won in the company in the past, will recoup up to 250 billion won. The market expects a significant portion of the proceeds to be used as funds for dividends.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 22nd, Hyundai Elevator is said to have invested about 18 billion won in SpaceX in two rounds, in 2021 and 2024. The investment was made through Link Asset Partners (formerly Link Asset Management). At the time, SpaceX's corporate value was about $100 billion (about 150 trillion won), according to the industry.
Hyundai Elevator's business report lists only the names of unlisted investment assets such as "TDH Global 2017 LLC" and "ADASTRAX LLC," but the industry views these investment assets as linked to SpaceX.
SpaceX is aiming to list on the Nasdaq in the United States on June 12. The offering price is expected to be set the day before the listing. A target corporate value of about $1.75 trillion (about 2,600 trillion won) is being discussed. If SpaceX lists at around this valuation, the value of the equity held by Hyundai Elevator is said to be up to 250 billion won.
The market assesses that SpaceX commands a price premium beyond that of a simple aerospace company. SpaceX is a private space company led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and is credited with effectively changing the paradigm of the global space industry through the development of the reusable rocket "Falcon 9" and the super-heavy spacecraft "Starship." In particular, the low-Earth-orbit satellite communications network "Starlink" has already secured millions of subscribers worldwide, emerging as a next-generation global communications platform.
The industry is focusing on the possibility that Hyundai Elevator will expand dividends after recouping its SpaceX investment. Hyundai Elevator has in fact been strengthening shareholder-return policies recently and increasing dividends. The dividend, which was 500 won per share in 2022, rose to 4,000 won in 2023 and 5,500 won in 2024. Last year, it decided on a total dividend of 14,010 won per share by combining a quarterly dividend of 2,000 won and a settlement-of-account dividend of 12,010 won.
Hyundai Elevator has also presented a mid- to long-term shareholder-return policy to raise the shareholder return ratio, including dividends, treasury share purchases, and cancellations, to 50% or higher by 2027.
A person in the financial investment industry said, "The market has recently been more sensitive to "hidden asset value" and shareholder returns than to simple earnings," adding, "As SpaceX itself is an asset with significant symbolism in the global market, it could act as a factor for a re-rating of Hyundai Elevator's corporate value."