Firmus plans A$7bn ASX float as investors question datacentre growth forecasts

Firmus Technologies is preparing to seek A$7 billion in an Australian stock market float later in October, the Guardian reported on 2 October, putting its largely unbuilt datacentre pipeline at the centre of a consequential test for investors. The proposed ASX offer could be Australia’s second-largest initial public offering, behind Telstra’s A$14 billion share sale in 1997. Its size and timing remain plans, rather than a completed fundraising result.

The pitch rests in part on a draft prospectus forecasting A$5 billion in annual earnings once Firmus’s development pipeline progresses, according to the Guardian. That figure is a projection, not a measure of current profit. The newspaper reported that Firmus operates two facilities, in Melbourne and Singapore, while most of the projects intended to support its growth have yet to be built.

What Firmus’s proposed valuation assumes

The Guardian reported that Firmus was valued at just under A$2 billion in a private funding round about a year ago. It said the company was now targeting a debut valuation above A$40 billion, while some analysts had put forward estimates as high as A$100 billion. None of those figures establishes a final offer price or the value at which its shares will trade.

An investment manager who had seen the draft prospectus told the Guardian that the valuation ‘keeps randomly compounding when nothing has really changed’. The manager also called the earnings forecast ‘a little bit of a fairytale’, citing the need to raise debt or equity to fund losses as the business expands. Those are the investor’s assessments of the proposal, rather than established findings about its eventual performance.

How the share sale could affect retail investors

The proposed offer has also raised questions about who may sell shares after listing. Rob Talevski, chief executive of Webull Securities Australia, warned in the Guardian that a small initial supply of shares could leave retail buyers serving as an ‘exit strategy’ for early institutional investors. His warning describes a possible risk; it does not establish that any investor has sold shares.

The Guardian reported that major backers including Blackstone had no escrow arrangement restricting an immediate sale of their stakes after listing. It said Firmus’s founders could begin selling some holdings as early as six months after the listing if the share price rises. The final offer terms and actual trading behaviour will matter more to buyers than either a proposed valuation or a prediction about future sales.

Tasmanian projects face approval and energy questions

The scale of the planned expansion is visible in Tasmania. The Guardian reported that a 104-megawatt Firmus facility at St Leonards, estimated to cost A$2.1 billion, was approved by the city of Launceston in September 2025 without a public hearing. Residents interviewed by the newspaper said they learned of the plans after construction began. The report said opposition had also emerged around two other proposed datacentres in the state’s north-east.

A Firmus spokesperson told the Guardian that the company had overhauled its community engagement programme after strong feedback from Launceston residents. The spokesperson said that feedback would continue to shape its approach. The company also said its sponsorship of Tasmanian sporting teams was no substitute for genuine community engagement.

A separate dispute concerns the proposed 288-megawatt Bell Bay facility. ABC News reported in September that Firmus appealed a George Town Council condition governing its planned 276 backup diesel generators. The approval permits their use for specified power interruptions, maintenance and emergencies, but bars using them to augment the mains supply during normal operations. Firmus asked for limited additional use during periods of electricity curtailment, network constraints or energy-market stress.

Firmus called the restriction unreasonable in its appeal, according to ABC. Asked how often it expected to use the generators, the company said it would not comment at that time. ABC reported that the Bell Bay facility would become Tasmania’s largest power user once operating. The cited report did not establish the outcome of the appeal, so the permitted generator use remains an open issue for that project.