Nvidia-backed AI data-centre builder Firmus pulls its A$7B ASX IPO, the biggest planned Australian float since Telstra
Confirmed
The takeaway
On Oct 9, 2026 Firmus Technologies, a Tasmania-based AI data-centre builder backed by Nvidia, withdrew its planned ASX listing, which would have raised about US$5B (A$7.1B) at a market value of about A$43.7B and been Australia’s largest float since Telstra in 1997.
Status
- Claim
Confirmed
- Our reporting
- High confidence
- Importance
- 3 of 5
- Last verified
- 9 October 2026
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Key facts
- Offer: about US$5B (A$7.1B) at A$11 a share, implying ~A$43.7B (~US$31B) market value; ASX trading had been set for Oct 23 (ACS Information Age, Breakingviews)
- Valuation path: ~A$1.85B a year earlier and A$15B after a A$2.85B round two months earlier (ACS)
- Underwriters: Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Morgans (ACS). Nvidia holds about 7.2% (ABC)
- Before the withdrawal, ABC reported that advisers were weighing a cut in the price from A$11 to A$8.25 and a smaller deal
- Firmus statement: ‘Having considered recent market volatility and prevailing market conditions, the board determined that the terms on which the offer could proceed would not appropriately reflect the strength of the company’s business’; it will pursue ‘alternative public and private-market options’
- Plans: ~US$51B build-out of five AI data centres in Tasmania and Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia); about 46 MW operating and 865 MW in the pipeline; customers include OpenAI and Meta (ACS)
- Lost partner: CDC scrapped the Project Southgate data-centre partnership with Firmus, saying their focus had diverged from Firmus’s international model (ABC, ACS)
- UniSuper CIO John Pearce (ABC): ‘We think that Firmus indeed has a compelling story. It just doesn’t have a compelling valuation.’
What happened
Firmus had priced its ASX float at A$11 a share and was two weeks from listing when it pulled the offer on Oct 9. The book had drawn weak institutional demand amid concerns about the company’s debt, its short track record and the loss of its Project Southgate partner CDC. The withdrawal came a day after AI infrastructure stocks fell on the FT’s report that OpenAI’s run-rate revenue was near $50B rather than $70B.
Why it matters
It is the first large AI-infrastructure IPO of the 2026 cycle to fail, and a test of public-market appetite for leveraged “neoclouds” ahead of the expected Anthropic, OpenAI and Lambda listings. (The CNBC page returned 403 to our fetcher; facts are from ABC, ACS and the Breakingviews summary.)
Sources
4 sources from 4 sites. Numbers match the chips in the text.
4 sources: 4 press
Press
- ABC News: Data centre operator Firmus pulls blockbuster ASX float after lacklustre demand (Oct 9)abc.net.au, press
- ACS Information Age: Australian data centre company Firmus scraps ASX floatia.acs.org.au, press
- Reuters Breakingviews: Failed AI IPO puts fear before FOMO (Oct 9)breakingviews.com, press
- CNBC: Nvidia-backed Aussie AI firm Firmus withdraws historic IPO, citing market volatilitycnbc.com, press
Changes
- Filed (Reuters Breakingviews via Google News)