Firmus pulls ASX float at $11 a share as ASIC makes inquiries and Maas shares fall

Data centre and AI infrastructure builder Firmus Technologies withdrew its application to list on the Australian Securities Exchange on 9 October 2026, two weeks before trading was due to begin. The company had planned to sell shares at $11 each, a price that valued it at up to $43.7 billion. One source says the offer aimed to raise between $5.5 billion and $8 billion. According to a statement relayed to the market by Maas Group, the board concluded that proceeding was not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.

The price was almost three times the value set two months earlier, when Firmus raised US$2 billion in August from investors including Nvidia, Coatue, Blackstone and Jane Street at a value of more than US$10.5 billion. Execution risk drew much of the scepticism, according to one report, and so did the prospect of heavy future funding needs. Marta Khomyn, a senior lecturer in finance and data analytics at Adelaide University, said the day before the float was pulled that Firmus had contracted 912 megawatts of capacity but had only 46 megawatts, about 5 per cent, running. She said that compared with roughly a quarter for rivals such as NextDC. She also noted that Firmus buys and owns its chips, so it could be left with outdated equipment as Nvidia releases new ones each year.

The corporate regulator is now looking at the float. Chris Savundra, executive director of enforcement and compliance at ASIC, told the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence on 20 October that there was no formal investigation under way, but that ASIC was making inquiries in the usual course. Nationals Senator Ross Cadell raised the matter and said a fellow parliamentarian had written to ASIC asking it to examine the float. ASIC chief executive Scott Gregson said the regulator had limited roles at the point a company first offers shares, and that checks on misleading or deceptive information were often considered after the event.

Maas Group, a construction and electrical engineering company, paid $410 million for 3.2 per cent of Firmus and holds an $855 million order to build electrical equipment for its centres. Investors have wiped $1.2 billion, or 44 per cent, from Maas Group since 6 October, according to The Australian. Maas told the market on 9 October that Firmus had placed orders worth about $1.1 billion across the 2026 and 2027 financial years and that its electrical business was still delivering. The company says it has received $373 million of the payments it expects, and it still expects the full $1.1 billion to be realised.

Founder Wes Maas declined to discuss Firmus at length, telling The Australian "I’m not a Firmus spokesperson". He said he had called Firmus co-founder Oliver Curtis over the weekend to check on him, and that the fundamentals of the business remained sound. Maas also said he remained a firm believer in AI demand, arguing that by 2030 the world needs 100 gigawatts of new build.

With the ASX route closed for now, Firmus is reported to be shifting towards private capital. The Australian reports that Firmus is expected to list on the Nasdaq late next year, though another source says nothing confirms a plan or timeline. Firmus has working sites in Melbourne and Singapore, five more due within two years, and in September signed OpenAI as an anchor customer for two planned Malaysian sites.