Firmus Scraps A$44bn IPO as Investors Balk at AI Data Centre Valuations

Firmus, the Nvidia-backed data centre operator, has scrapped its planned listing on the Australian Securities Exchange, pulling what would have been the country's largest initial public offering in nearly 30 years after investors refused to meet its price.

The Singapore-based company withdrew its application on Friday, citing "recent market volatility and prevailing market conditions," according to a company spokesperson. Firmus said it would pursue capital from private markets and consider alternative public and private listing options.

The collapse ends a deal that had been marketed at A$11 a share, with plans to raise A$7 billion and a valuation of about A$44 billion — close to established Australian companies such as Woolworths and the country's most valuable IPO since Telstra in the 1990s, according to reports in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times. Indiatimes.com put the sought valuation at about $30.6 billion.

The withdrawal came after a rapid deterioration in institutional demand. Investors were initially due to submit bids at A$11 a share, but when buyers balked, bankers cut the offer price to around A$8, the Australian reports said. The company and its bankers reportedly weighed options including pulling the deal, discounting further, or scaling back the amount sought.

Investor resistance centered on price and execution risk. Some buyers worried that existing shareholders could flood the market soon after listing, the reports said, noting that escrow agreements would restrict trading in only 42.4 per cent of shares, leaving 57.6 per cent free to change hands at debut. Shares held by major existing backers were not subject to escrow restrictions.

"I've never seen an IPO so polarising," Jun Bei Liu, co-founder and lead portfolio manager at Ten Cap Investment, said on Bloomberg TV, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald and PerthNow. "There was a lot of international investor interest, however, when it comes to the crunch, the demand seems like it isn't there when they were asked to put up the capital that's required."

Analysts questioned the premium being asked for capacity that is still largely unbuilt. eToro analyst Josh Gilbert said the "rarity value" of AI options on the ASX was not enough to convince investors. "Investors just weren't prepared to pay a sky-high price upfront for capacity that's still largely on the drawing board," he told PerthNow.

Moomoo chief market strategist Tapas Strickland told PerthNow the company had only about $50 million in revenue, had not yet completed a full data centre, and faced "massive execution risk given it's a relatively new player in this area."

Firmus provides cloud computing services to AI companies and has signed anchor tenants including Meta and OpenAI at centres in Malaysia, Melbourne and Indonesia. Only two of its facilities are operational so far, according to the Australian reports.

The company counts high-profile investors among its backers, including billionaire James Packer, former treasurer Joe Hockey, investor Alex Waislitz, and fund managers Ellerston Capital and Regal Partners. AI chipmaker Nvidia holds a 7.2 per cent stake, and Blackstone and Coatue Management also have significant holdings, the reports said.

The fallout hit at least one existing shareholder. Maas Group, which owns 3.2 per cent of Firmus and has contracts to help build its facilities, saw its shares fall as much as 30 per cent on the news. Other data centre stocks were largely unaffected, with Goodman Group and NextDC both edging up.

The withdrawal is part of a broader pattern of shelved listings this year. According to indiatimes.com, a string of high-profile IPOs have been abandoned, delayed or reworked in 2026 as investors demand greater valuation discipline, including Clear Street, Oura, Holtec Nuclear, Bamboo Insurance, Amaero, KNDS and CopperTech Metals. Not all deals have stalled — indiatimes.com noted that Nvidia-backed Iambic Therapeutics is still pursuing a US IPO, and Refresco is studying a potential listing.

The Firmus collapse underscores the widening gap between long-term enthusiasm for AI infrastructure and investor discipline on valuation, particularly for companies with limited operating history. As Gilbert put it, the AI trade "still has plenty of legs, but it has become far more demanding, with investors picking their entry points much more carefully."