Firmus pulls ASX float after investor demand falls short

Firmus Technologies has withdrawn its application to list on the Australian Securities Exchange, ending a planned initial public offering that Australian media reports said would have been the country’s biggest float since Telstra in 1997.

In a company statement reported by the ABC on 9 October 2026, Firmus cited recent market volatility and conditions, saying the offer would not appropriately reflect its long-term growth prospects. The company said it would pursue private market funding while considering other options, and would provide additional information to shareholders as those options progressed.

The Sydney-based AI data centre company, backed by Nvidia, had been seeking a valuation of about $43.7 billion to $44 billion, according to ABC reports published on 9 and 10 October. The ABC said Firmus had planned to raise about $7 billion through the listing, with the intention of borrowing further to build data centres across Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Bloomberg News reported on 9 October that Firmus Grid Ltd had abandoned an attempt at one of Australia’s biggest-ever IPOs after the Nvidia-backed data centre company failed to attract global investors who had become more cautious about AI valuations. The Guardian also reported on 9 October that Firmus had pulled what it described as the biggest ASX float since Telstra amid investor doubt about the data centre company.

According to the ABC, the offer had faced poor investor interest amid concerns about the company’s debt, the level of detail in its prospectus and the proposed sale price. Reports emerged before the float was pulled that Firmus and its advisers were considering reducing the per-share price from $11 to $8.25, the ABC said.

The ABC reported that some prospective investors were concerned about fears of an AI bubble and the pace of growth in data centres. It also reported that investors had focused on co-chief executive Oliver Curtis’s criminal background, noting he is a former investment banker who served one year in prison a decade ago for insider trading.

Firmus was founded in 2019 by Curtis, Tim Rosenfield and Jonathan Levee, according to the ABC. Its website, as described by the ABC, says its portfolio spans seven AI factories across Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, with two operational sites and five under development, targeting readiness for service over the next 24 months. The ABC also reported that Nvidia holds a 7.2 per cent stake in the company.

ABC analysis published on 10 October said the founders were now hoping to pursue further private funding and attempt a Nasdaq listing next year. That remains a reported plan, not an announced completion.

The collapse of the listing comes amid heightened scrutiny of AI infrastructure valuations and the capital demands of data centre expansion. Morningstar senior market strategist Lochlan Holloway told the ABC the company had been given a valuation similar to Woolworths while generating startup-level revenue, and said the longer-term economics remained a key question.