Firmus shelves A$5.5bn IPO as demand falls short

AI data-centre operator Firmus has shelved its planned Australian IPO after institutional investor demand fell short amid market volatility. The company had planned to raise up to A$5.5 billion at A$11 a share, implying an equity valuation of about A$43.7 billion (US$30 billion); trading on the ASX had been expected around 23 October. An earlier plan was reported as a A$7 billion offering, but the latest figures put the targeted raise at up to A$5.5 billion. Firmus is considering private funding and other financing options instead. The Firmus IPO would have been one of Australia’s largest listings in decades. The Nvidia-backed company operates two small data centres, is developing its Project Southgate site in Australia and has operations in Indonesia. Its plans include a collaboration with Nvidia involving up to 170,000 GPUs, and Meta and OpenAI are among its clients. Firmus raised $505 million in April at a $5.5 billion post-money valuation, followed by $2 billion in August at a valuation above $10.5 billion. Reports cited waning foreign investor interest, and the IPO uncertainty also weighed on backer Maas Group Holdings, whose shares fell 30%. Traders will watch for details of any private funding round and progress on Southgate, its Indonesian operations and GPU deployment. The shelved IPO has no direct impact on a cryptocurrency token, but the financing shift may be relevant to sentiment around AI infrastructure and technology-sector investment.