Firmus prepares for $43b ASX debut in biggest listing since Telstra

Australian AI startup Firmus is seeking a $43 billion valuation as it prepares to list on the ASX this month in what would be the biggest company debut on the local share market since Telstra.

The company has priced its shares at $11 each and is aiming to raise about $7.1 billion through the float, according to a term sheet reviewed by the Australian Financial Review and Reuters.

That would give Firmus a market cap of about $43.7 billion and make the deal the second-largest IPO in Australian history, behind Telstra’s first share sale in 1997.

According to analysts from the banks working on the IPO, Reuters reports, the firm is also said to have about $43 billion worth of debts, giving Firmus a potential enterprise value of approximately $86 billion.

Formal bidding from institutional investors is due to begin on Tuesday and close on Friday.

The listing caps a meteoric trajectory for the Australian company, founded by Oliver Curtis and Tim Rosenfield in 2019, which builds the data centres needed to run artificial intelligence systems.

The valuation would also seal a remarkable reversal in fortunes for Curtis, the husband of high-profile PR queen Roxy Jacenko, after serving 12 months in prison for insider trading in 2016.

Firmus calls the facilities “AI factories”, and its infrastructure provides the huge amounts of computing power major technology companies need.

It already operates data centres in Melbourne and Singapore, with another five in the works across the Asia-Pacific, including projects in Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Among its customers are some of the world’s biggest technology companies, including Meta and OpenAI.

Firmus raised $2.8 billion in fresh equity in August to help fund its expansion, taking its post-money valuation at the time above $15 billion.

The proposed float would put a vastly higher price tag on the company just months later.

Investor material reported by the Australian Financial Review forecasts Firmus will bring in $330 million in operating revenue during the first half of this financial year, compared with about $72 million across the whole of last financial year.

The company is still expected to post losses as it pours money into new facilities and computing equipment, with an after-tax loss of about $111 million forecast for the half.

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Firmus has told prospective investors it expects it could take up to two years for the business to generate billions of dollars in earnings.

Demand for the float already appears strong, with indicative orders from investors exceeding the size of the offer before formal bidding begins, according to Reuters.

The company could also raise another $720 million through an over-allotment option if demand is high enough.

If all goes to plan, Firmus will list on the ASX on October 23.