Firmus cancels IPO after failing to win investor support

Firmus withdrew its ASX listing application and will seek private funding instead of going public.

Firmus had planned to go public at a valuation of around A$44 billion. On Oct 9, the company canceled the offering due to insufficient investor demand.

The offering fell through. At A$11 per share, Firmus was preparing the largest listing on Australia's ASX since Telstra in 1997. Before the cancellation, the company had discussed lowering the price to A$8.25 and reducing the size of the offering. Trading was scheduled to begin on Oct 23, 2026.

UniSuper chief investment officer John Pearce declined to participate directly in the IPO because of the high valuation and Firmus's expected need for additional debt and equity funding. According to ABC News on Oct 9, Firmus expects debt of around US$30 billion after building its data centers. That is 6 times its projected operating profit of US$5 billion for 2028.

Private funding is already in place. On Aug 7, Firmus announced a fully subscribed US$2 billion funding round at a post-money valuation above US$10.5 billion. Participants included:

- NVIDIA; - Coatue; - Blackstone; - Jane Street.

Firmus is building AI data centers, with most sites still to come online. According to the company's Sep 8 update, 2 of its 7 sites across 4 countries were operational. Firmus planned to bring the remaining 5 online within 24 months.

OpenAI signed a multiyear agreement with Firmus for computing capacity at 2 sites in Malaysia. According to Firmus on Sep 8, total capacity contracted by all customers exceeded 900 MW.

**Sources**

[The Guardian: Firmus IPO cancellation, Oct 9, 2026](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/09/firmus-pulls-asx-float-datacentre-investor-doubt-australia). ABC News, Oct 8–9, 2026. Firmus press releases, Aug 7 and Sep 8, 2026.

Firmus now plans to fund construction of its next sites with private capital.

Firmus cancels IPO after failing to win investor support

Firmus withdrew its ASX listing application and will seek private funding instead of going public.

Firmus had planned to go public at a valuation of around A$44 billion. On Oct 9, the company canceled the offering due to insufficient investor demand.

Private funding is already in place. On Aug 7, Firmus announced a fully subscribed US$2 billion funding round at a post-money valuation above US$10.5 billion. Participants included:

- NVIDIA; - Coatue; - Blackstone; - Jane Street.

OpenAI signed a multiyear agreement with Firmus for computing capacity at 2 sites in Malaysia. According to Firmus on Sep 8, total capacity contracted by all customers exceeded 900 MW.

**Sources**

Firmus now plans to fund construction of its next sites with private capital.