By Scott Murdoch, Anjali Singh and Yantoultra Ngui
SYDNEY/HONG KONG, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Australian AI infrastructure company Firmus Technologies is seeking to raise up to $5 billion in its initial public offering, aiming to launch next month, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
At $5 billion, the IPO would rank as the fourth-largest globally so far this year, behind SpaceX, CXMT Corp and Cerebras Systems, according to Dealogic data. It would also be the second-largest Australia-listed IPO on record, behind only Telstra Corp’s $10 billion flotation in 1997.
Firmus targets an IPO launch in October, with a debut on the Australian Securities Exchange expected as early as late October, the people said. The size and timing of the offering could still change.
“I’m afraid we’ll still decline to comment,” a Firmus spokesperson said of the plans.
The company began meeting investors in Asia on Monday and plans to visit Europe and the United States before holding meetings in Australia, a third person familiar with the matter said.
The international investor roadshow is expected to last two weeks before the Australian leg, one of the people with direct knowledge said.
The planned share sale would test investor appetite for companies building the data centres and related systems that provide computing power for artificial intelligence, even as some industry leaders warn that the rapid pace of investment and model development may be difficult to sustain.
The Australian Financial Review was first to report on Monday that Firmus was in discussions to raise up to A$7 billion ($5 billion) through its IPO. Bloomberg News also reported the potential size of the offering.
Firmus declined a Reuters request to comment on the earlier reports.
Last month, the company said it had raised $2 billion in equity in its latest funding round, to ramp up the rollout of AI factories in Australia and Asia Pacific, taking Firmus’ post-money valuation to above $10.5 billion.
The August funding round included participation from Nvidia and tech investor Coatue Management, with backing from Blackstone’s funds and Jane Street, suggesting investors remain willing to back AI investments even as concerns mount over heavy spending and the sustainability of the AI boom.
Nvidia’s investment follows a separate deal between the two companies under which the U.S.-listed chip giant will provide emerging AI firms with more cost-effective access to computing power.
($1 = 1.4006 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney, Anjali Singh in Bengaluru and Yantoultra Ngui in Hong Kong; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Susan Fenton)
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