Firmus Technologies is seeking to raise A$7 billion from investors in a listing that would be the second-largest initial public offering in Australian history, behind only Telstra's 1997 privatisation. The float is scheduled for October 23 on the Australian Securities Exchange.
However, the company faces significant scepticism. According to a senior lecturer in finance at Adelaide University writing for The Conversation, only about 5% of Firmus's contracted capacity is currently operational, compared with roughly a quarter for rivals such as NextDC, Australia's largest listed data centre company. The valuation would be about four times that of NextDC.
Firmus is losing money, and its financials, including current and forecast revenue, debt levels, and construction costs, have not yet been disclosed. They are expected in the company's prospectus on Thursday. A media report late Wednesday suggested the company's bankers were even considering lowering the announced offer price.
The company's track record is short: only two of its data centres are operational, with the rest in planning or construction. It also faces public backlash in Tasmania, where locals say they were not properly consulted about three planned giant data centres. Adding to the controversy, its two co-chief executives are cousins, one of whom, Oliver Curtis, is a former investment banker who went to jail for insider trading a decade ago.
The team has shown it can raise money, but analysts question whether it can deliver multibillion-dollar building projects in a crowded market, particularly at a time when AI valuations are already high and Firmus's price sits at the top end of similar AI infrastructure companies.