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Australian data-centre operator Firmus Grid plans to allocate about half of its initial public offering shares to existing shareholders, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, October 5, citing people familiar with the matter. The proposed allocation could give current investors Nvidia and Blackstone an opportunity to increase their stakes, although the report did not specify which holders would receive shares or how allocations would be determined.
The reported plan comes as Firmus prepares a major listing on the Australian Securities Exchange to fund expansion of its artificial-intelligence computing infrastructure. Investing.com, summarizing Bloomberg’s report, said indications from investors were well above the offer size and that the bookbuilding deadline had been moved forward to Thursday from Friday. Firmus had priced the IPO at A$11 a share, implying an equity valuation of about A$43.7 billion, or US$30.3 billion, according to that report.
Allocation shifts attention to existing investors
Setting aside roughly half of an offering for existing shareholders would reserve a substantial portion of the available shares for investors already on Firmus’s register. Bloomberg’s report named Nvidia and Blackstone as potential beneficiaries, but did not establish that either company would receive a particular allocation or confirm that they had elected to buy more shares.
The allocation plan is reported rather than a final allotment announcement. The available report does not detail what portion of the IPO consists of newly issued shares versus shares sold by current holders, nor does it disclose the expected allocation to institutional or retail investors. Those distinctions matter because proceeds from new shares go to the company, while proceeds from existing shares go to the selling shareholder.
IPO pricing and reported demand
Firmus’s A$11 offer price implies a valuation of approximately A$43.7 billion, according to the October 5 report. Bloomberg was also reported as saying that investor indications exceeded the offer size, a sign of demand during the marketing process, but the coverage did not provide a subscription multiple or final order figures.
The reported fundraising totals differ across coverage and may reflect different deal definitions or stages. Investing.com’s account of Bloomberg put the amount Firmus was seeking at as much as A$5.5 billion, equivalent to US$3.8 billion, including a greenshoe option. A Reuters report on October 1, citing a term sheet, said the IPO aimed to raise A$7.1 billion, with a further A$500 million possible through an over-allotment option. The available reports do not reconcile the figures, so the A$5.5 billion figure should not be treated as identical to the earlier stated base offering.
Funding expansion of AI data-centre capacity
Firmus operates data centres and is expanding capacity to serve demand for computing power used in artificial intelligence. The October 5 report said IPO proceeds would help fund GPUs for the company’s first data centre in Batam, Indonesia. Bloomberg’s September coverage and Reuters reporting have also described a broader Asia-Pacific buildout.
Reuters reported on October 1 that Firmus had two operational data centres, in Australia and Singapore, and five more under development across the Asia-Pacific region. The company raised US$2 billion in an equity funding round in August, Reuters reported, with the capital intended to accelerate its AI-factory rollout. Firmus has secured backing from Nvidia and Blackstone, though the available coverage does not set out the terms of their investments or establish how much either may commit in the IPO.
Bookbuilding deadline brought forward
The bookbuilding deadline was brought forward to Thursday from Friday, Bloomberg reported, shortening the period for investors to submit orders. That timetable update follows the earlier Reuters report that the institutional bookbuild was due to begin on October 6 and close on October 9. The new deadline reported on Monday suggests the schedule changed during the offering process.
The key details still to be confirmed include the final share allocation, the amount raised, the precise treatment of existing shareholders and the listing’s trading start date. Reuters reported on October 1 that shares were expected to begin trading on the ASX on October 23. The October 5 report did not state whether that date had changed or provide a final result for the offering.
