Nvidia-Backed Firmus Withdraws $31B IPO That Would Have Been Australia's Biggest in Nearly 30 Years

What Happened

On Friday, Firmus announced it was withdrawing its ASX listing application. The planned deal priced shares at A$11 apiece, implying a market capitalization of roughly A$44 billion (about $31 billion) and targeting a raise of nearly $5 billion, with trading originally penciled in for late October. Reuters reported that investment banks had already shut the bookbuilding process as institutional support failed to materialize.

In a statement, the company said 'recent market volatility and prevailing market conditions' meant the terms on which the offer could proceed would 'not appropriately reflect the strength of the company's business and long-term growth outlook,' and that proceeding was not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders. Prospective investors told Reuters they were concerned about the company's rapidly rising valuation, its ability to deliver on ambitious expansion plans, and its hefty debt pile.

Firmus said it would instead pursue private-market fundraising and consider alternative public and private market options. Its shareholder, Australian construction services firm Maas Group, requested a trading halt on Friday pending a material announcement on its contractual arrangements with Firmus; Maas shares had already fallen more than 20% on Thursday on the IPO news.

Key Facts

1. Who:Firmus Technologies, a Sydney-based AI data center operator building what it calls 'AI factories,' with proprietary energy and cooling technology and its HyperCube modular platform. Investors include Nvidia, Blackstone, Coatue, and Jane Street; in September it signed a multi-year compute agreement with OpenAI for two facilities in Malaysia using Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 systems.
2. Scale:The listing would have been Australia's largest IPO since Telstra in 1997 and the country's second-largest ever, targeting a raise of nearly $5 billion.
3. Backstory:HIMIAO reported on October 8 that Firmus had cut about $5 billion from its IPO pricing; on October 9 the company withdrew its listing application.
4. Fallout:Shareholder Maas Group (which added A$300 million in August for a 3.2% stake) halted trading; 2026 has already seen several IPO withdrawals or delays, including Clear Street, Oura, Holtec Nuclear, and Bamboo Insurance (per Reuters).
5. As reported:The company operates two data centers with five under development and has a $10 billion debt facility led by Blackstone, but expansion will require substantially more capital.