Firmus accounts show US$550m chip payments due as ASIC examines failed float

Firmus, the Nvidia-backed Australian data centre company, faces US$550 million in pre-payments due by December for chips for its Indonesian Batam project, according to audited accounts filed with ASIC and reported by the ABC. The commitment is part of a US$8.3 billion chip purchase, and the accounts say forecasts had assumed the share float and new loans would help pay for it. Those forecasts were signed off in August, before the float was dropped, and Firmus has said it will turn to private funding. The accounts do not say what share of the Batam deposits and advance rent has been paid, or whether the schedule has been revised.

The accounts also set out about US$311 million in payments for Australian projects, known as Project Southgate, due by June next year. Firmus expected three contracted sites to start earning revenue from March 2027, and the report states that the Melbourne, Launceston and Wesley Vale projects and their chips were funded. Firmus also committed to US$625 million in payments and fees for two submarine cable projects over periods of up to 20 years. Some investors are due bonus shares if the company has not listed by 30 November.

Firmus reported US$50.8 million in revenue for the year to June, double the prior year, most of it from Asia. Its Australian annual revenue was US$1,327. Directors say in the report that the company has US$19.4 billion in contracts with big tech companies, and claim Batam could generate US$25 billion to US$30 billion over six years.

The float collapsed on 9 October after it failed to attract enough backing amid investor concerns over AI valuations, heavy spending and the timing of returns. Firmus had planned to raise $5 billion at a $30.6 billion valuation, triple the value set in a private round in August, according to Reuters. The ABC reported a different valuation target of $44 billion, and said just 5 per cent of contracted capacity was online during the float attempt.

On Thursday, ASIC chair Sarah Court told a hearing of lawmakers the regulator had yet to launch an official investigation but had engaged with the joint lead managers: Bank of America, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Morgans. Court said the regulator was looking at "the broad range of issues that have been reported in the media". Some investors have criticised as misleading a term sheet sent when pricing launched on 1 October, which said indications were in excess of the offer size, and Morgans reportedly told clients the order book was well above the deal size. Court said broker messaging during the bookbuild would form part of ASIC's inquiry. In a letter to Liberal Senator Dave Sharma, Court set out ASIC's standards for banks running capital raisings. Under them, banks should be able to justify what they say about investor demand, keep records of how the bookbuild and allocations were handled, deal with conflicts, and tell investors if demand shifts materially.

The ABC reported that the failed float set off a sell-off in data centre shares, with NextDC and CoreWeave both down sharply this month, and that researchers fear states such as Tasmania could pay for unused infrastructure.