Wall Street banks and CEOs promote SpaceX in flashy events with BofA, Morgan Stanley, JPM events planned

NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) – Wall Street banks are competing to ‌offer special events for wealthy clients trying to get a piece of the SpaceX IPO, with Bank of America and JPMorgan hosting splashy events ahead of its launch next week and some ​bank CEOs involved in the action.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX blockbuster IPO next week has ​rippled through Wall Street banks, investors and the financial industry that ⁠all want a slice of the action. The IPO aims to raise $75 billion, valuing the ​company at $1.75 trillion.

Bank of America, which is leading the retail distribution effort in the ​U.S., will host on Thursday an event for its wealth management clients, while it has decked its headquarters in midtown Manhattan’s Bryant Park with SpaceX images throughout the lobby, a source familiar with ​the matter said. On Thursday evening the bank will light the building’s spire to make ​it look like a rocket ship taking off.

Bank of America’s event will be headed by Co-President ‌Jim ⁠DeMare speaking with SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell and CFO Bret Johnsen about the upcoming SpaceX IPO.

A similar event will be headed by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon on Thursday with the same SpaceX executives. More than 2,500 clients are expected to ​attend in what will ​be the first ⁠such event for the bank at this scale.

More than 5,000 clients across its private bank and Merrill Lynch have been invited ​to market launch parties being hosted by the bank and streamed ​to offices ⁠across the U.S. as part of the Merrill presence.

Morgan Stanley will have its event for wealth management clients on Monday and invited its top financial advisors to hear from ⁠SpaceX executives. ​The event will be hosted by Jed Finn, ​head of wealth management, and Kate Claassen, the lead banker in the IPO.