Business
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Firmus pulls ASX float that was set to be biggest listing since Telstra in 1997
Firmus Technologies has withdrawn what would have been Australia's largest company listing in decades, scrapping a Firmus ASX float valued at $44bn after investor demand for its AI datacentre business failed to materialise.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 8, 2026
• 2 Min Read
The Firmus ASX float has been pulled outright, with the Nvidia-backed start-up withdrawing its application to list after bankers misjudged how much appetite existed for the offer.
A $44bn listing that unraveled midweek
The company had carried an anticipated $44bn valuation and was expected to be the biggest ASX listing since Telstra in 1997. Bankers sought $7bn from investors ahead of a listing scheduled for 23 October, but demand was vastly overestimated, and the offering began to unravel midweek.
- •Discussions followed about heavily reducing the proposed share price of the initial public offering, according to an investment manager briefed on the matter
- •Instead, the company withdrew its application to list altogether
Who backed Firmus - and who was sceptical
Firmus was backed by chip maker Nvidia and the Wall Street firms Blackstone, Jane Street and Coatue, and aimed to raise billions through a float run with five brokers. The company faced scepticism over its valuation and forecast earnings, given it was in its start-up phase with just two, small operational sites. Guardian Australia had earlier reported concern that early Firmus investors were going to use retail investors buying into the float as their "exit strategy".
Fallout for founders and investors
The withdrawal will greatly reduce the anticipated financial worth of founders Oliver Curtis, who served prison time for insider trading, his cousin Tim Rosenfield, and Curtis's former brother-in-law Jonathan Levee. Shares in Firmus investor Maas Group plunged more than 20% on Thursday amid the turmoil.
What Firmus plans next
A Firmus spokesperson said the board judged that proceeding with the offer was no longer in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.
the board decided that proceeding with the offer was no longer in the best interests of the company and its shareholders
On Friday morning a spokesperson said Firmus will now pursue capital from the private markets and consider alternative public and private market options. Without float proceeds, the company must raise private money to fund plans to build liquid-cooled "AI factories" in Australia and across Asia.
