Firmus expects a $77 million pro forma after-tax loss for the half-year to 30 June 2027 as it prepares a roughly $5 billion Australian listing on 22 October, Finimize reported.
Key points
- Firmus is seeking A$7 billion ($5 billion) in its initial public offering.
- Its draft prospectus projects a $77 million pro forma after-tax loss for the half-year to 30 June 2027.
- The institutional bookbuild is scheduled for 6 and 7 October, before trading begins on 22 October.
- Firmus has two operating data centres and five under development across the Asia-Pacific.
Firmus projects a $77 million loss
The projected loss comes from a draft prospectus circulated to investors, according to Finimize. The publication reported that Firmus has been loss-making and that the draft contains no forecasts beyond the half-year ending 30 June 2027. The $77 million figure is a pro forma projection, rather than a reported result for a completed period.
Firmus operates data centres for customers including Nvidia, Meta and OpenAI, Finimize reported. Blackstone backs the operator. The planned listing would give public-market investors exposure to its existing facilities and the sites it is developing, alongside the loss projected in the draft prospectus.
The company has two operational data centres, in Australia and Singapore, and five more under development across the Asia-Pacific. The planned sites make up most of the seven facilities described ahead of the offer. The projected loss covers a period ending after the scheduled listing.
A$7 billion offer includes an over-allotment option
Firmus is seeking A$7 billion ($5 billion) through the initial public offering, Reuters reported after reviewing a term sheet sent to investors on 21 September. The institutional bookbuild is scheduled to open on 6 October and close on 7 October. The term sheet puts the expected prospectus lodgement on 8 October.
Retail investors are scheduled to be able to bid for shares from 12 to 19 October. An over-allotment option could lift the amount raised to $5.5 billion by adding $500 million to the offering, Reuters reported. The additional amount depends on use of that option.
If completed at the planned size, the IPO would rank second in Australian history behind Telstra’s $10 billion listing in 1997. Reuters also reported that Dealogic data would put it fourth among global IPOs so far this year. Both rankings concern the proposed offer, before the bookbuild has taken place.
Firmus founders face staged share releases
Oliver Curtis, Tim Rosenfield and Jonathan Levee founded Firmus in 2019. Their shares would be subject to escrow arrangements after the listing, according to an investor presentation seen by Reuters. Those arrangements would release only 10% of their shares after one year and a further 39.9% after two years.
The staged releases would keep much of the founders’ holdings subject to those arrangements while investors assess the listed company. Public investors who buy into the offer would be taking a stake in an operator with two facilities running, five in development and a projected loss for the half-year ending in June 2027.
Firmus has faced local opposition to planned projects in Australia amid concerns about data centres’ power and water consumption. The five sites under development span the Asia-Pacific, while its two operating facilities are in Australia and Singapore.
Firmus shares are scheduled to begin trading on the Australian Securities Exchange on 22 October.
