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Firmus scraps ASX float that would have been Australia's biggest since Telstra

Firmus Technologies has abandoned its planned ASX listing, which was expected to value the AI data centre company at $44bn, after investor demand fell short. The company says it will now seek private capital.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-09 08:51

A spokesperson for Firmus said the board had concluded that proceeding with the offer was no longer in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. "Firmus will now pursue capital from the private markets and consider alternative public and private market options," the spokesperson said on Friday morning. The company would provide additional information to shareholders as those options progressed, the spokesperson said.

Firmus had been expected to list with a valuation of about $44bn, which would have made it the biggest company debut on the Australian Securities Exchange in nearly three decades, dating back to the sale of Telstra in 1997. The offer was to be managed by five brokers and was backed by chip maker Nvidia and the Wall Street firms Blackstone, Jane Street and Coatue. Those backers believed a public float could raise billions of dollars.

Demand did not meet that expectation. The company had faced mounting scepticism over both its valuation and its forecast earnings, given that it remains in its start-up phase and operates only two small sites.

With the public offer withdrawn, Firmus will need to raise money from private investors to fund its plans to build liquid-cooled "AI factories" in Australia and across Asia. The company has not said how much it intends to raise privately, or when it expects to decide between the alternative public and private market options it said it is now considering.

The collapse of the float removes what would have been the most prominent test of Australian investor appetite for the data centre firms tied to the build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Firmus has not disclosed a revised timetable for any future listing, and it remains unclear whether the private fundraising will be completed before its construction plans advance.

【Editor's Summary】Firmus Technologies has withdrawn its planned ASX float, which had been expected to value the AI data centre company at about $44bn and to be Australia's largest listing since Telstra in 1997. The board said proceeding was no longer in shareholders' best interests, and the company will now seek private capital to fund liquid-cooled "AI factories" in Australia and Asia. The withdrawal reflects investor scepticism over the valuation and earnings outlook of a start-up with two small operational sites.