Australian AI data centre operator Firmus scrapped its planned $5 billion initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday, opting instead for a private fundraising round. The listing would have been the second-largest in Australia's history, and its collapse is the latest sign that investors are becoming pickier about valuations for AI-linked listings.
Firmus had planned to sell shares at A$11 apiece, implying an equity valuation of $30.6 billion — nearly triple the $10.5 billion valuation it secured in a fundraising round at the start of August. In a statement, the company said 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 the board had concluded proceeding was "not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders." Firmus said it would now pursue capital from private markets and "consider alternative public and private market options."
The deal's term sheet, circulated at launch, said indicative orders were already sufficient to cover the size of the offering. But prospective investors told Reuters they were uneasy about the company's rapidly rising valuation, its ability to deliver on ambitious expansion plans, and its hefty debt pile. Investor documents seen by Bloomberg showed Firmus has a pipeline of 912 megawatts of power capacity, of which only 46 megawatts has been built. The company currently has just two data centres online — in Melbourne and Singapore — with five more across the Asia-Pacific in early stages of development. Before pulling the deal, Firmus reportedly tried cutting the offer price from A$11 to as low as A$8.25 to get it across the line, but demand still fell short, according to reports in The Australian and the Australian Financial Review. Its draft prospectus said the centres would generate $5 billion in annual earnings within five years.
The fallout spread to Maas Group, the Australian construction services provider and Firmus investor. Maas entered a trading halt on Friday pending a material announcement regarding its contractual arrangements with the data centre operator, with trading expected to resume by the start of trading on Monday. In early August, Maas pledged an additional A$300 million to Firmus through ordinary and preference shares, lifting its stake to 3.2%. After reports that Firmus was reconsidering its listing terms, Maas shares plunged more than 20% on Thursday, erasing about A$517 million from its market value and leaving the stock down more than 30% from the record high it reached earlier this month.
Firmus is not alone. A Reuters review found a string of high-profile IPOs abandoned, delayed or reworked in 2026 as investors demanded greater valuation discipline, testing hopes for a sustained revival in global equity capital markets. Wall Street brokerage Clear Street withdrew its planned US IPO in February; smart-ring maker Oura postponed its offering in September; nuclear equipment maker Holtec Nuclear and insurer Bamboo Insurance also shelved their listings in September.
"I think the Firmus situation represents an important reality check for the AI investment boom, but I wouldn't interpret it as the beginning of the end of the AI trade," said Jun Bei Liu, co-founder of fund manager Ten Cap, who had been critical of the Firmus IPO.
Firmus is backed by Nvidia, Coatue Management, Blackstone and Jane Street, and counts OpenAI as its anchor customer. The company, which began as a Bitcoin mining operation in Australia in 2019, says it designs and operates modular "AI factories" using proprietary energy and cooling technology. It is now in talks with existing investors about a new private funding round to keep its expansion plans on track.