Firmus, an emerging player in the artificial intelligence data centre sector, has secured approximately US$3 billion in cornerstone investor support ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO). The backing comes from prominent U.S.-based investors, including Nvidia, Blackstone, Jane Street Capital, and Coatue Management.
The company is preparing to open its bookbuild on October 6, with the process closing on October 7, followed by lodging its prospectus on October 8. A retail offer is scheduled to run from October 12 until October 19, ahead of an expected listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on October 22.
Firmus has been conducting a global roadshow, targeting both Asian and Australian institutional investors. The company’s management, including investor relations head Toby Langley and founder Oliver Curtis, is actively engaging potential investors alongside a team of investment bankers.
Currently, Firmus operates data centres in Melbourne and Singapore but does not yet have any of its new projects fully operational. The company is developing facilities in Tasmania and Malaysia, with plans to expand to Indonesia. Its Launceston data centre in Tasmania is projected to generate US$540 million in annual earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) once operational. Additional centres—Wesley Vale in Tasmania and sites in Indonesia and Malaysia—are forecast to generate EBIT ranging from US$140 million to US$1.54 billion each.
A formal term sheet outlines Firmus’s financial outlook, estimating annual EBIT of roughly US$5 billion from completed projects, suggesting a proposed sale at a multiple of 12 times EBIT. This valuation is lower than the approximate 15 times multiple commanded by comparable global firms. Despite this, several industry experts express skepticism, noting the company’s substantial valuation—surpassing that of Telstra on the ASX—despite a lack of operational data centres producing revenue. Doubts have also been raised concerning claims that Firmus can develop and operate data centres at roughly half the cost of competitors.
Firmus reportedly holds offtake agreements with major technology companies, including Meta, Nvidia, and OpenAI, and currently manages 46 megawatts (MW) of operational capacity, with 865 MW under development and 3.2 gigawatts of planned capacity. The company carries approximately US$10 billion in Australian debt.
Ownership stakes among cornerstone investors include Blackstone with 6.7 percent, Nvidia 7.2 percent, Coatue 8.4 percent, and founder Oliver Curtis holding 13.3 percent. Other key shareholders include co-founder Tim Rosenfield at 5.4 percent and Nick Curtis at 5.6 percent, with remaining shares held by various existing investors. At the time of listing, shareholders will be able to sell up to 10 percent of their holdings, with restrictions on the remainder.
Firmus posted a net loss of US$68.2 million in the last fiscal year and anticipates continuing losses of approximately US$77 million for the first half of the 2027 financial year. The company plans to allocate about half of the IPO proceeds to capital expenditures.
The IPO is being managed by Bank of America, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Morgans, with advisory support from Highbury Partnership. Firmus has also engaged additional retail brokers to attract individual investors. The base IPO offer size is set at US$5 billion, with an overallotment option of up to US$500 million. The final offer price is expected to be confirmed later this week.