Business · Companies · 3 hrs ago
Firmus float halt puts billions in AI data centre commitments in doubt
Australian data centre company Firmus has halted its planned public offering, which had been expected to help fund its expansion.
Firmus builds data centres and rents their capacity to other companies.
The company has $550 million in chip prepayments due by December for a project in Batam, Indonesia, as part of an $8.3 billion chip commitment.
Its financial forecasts assumed the public offering would help pay for the chips, but Firmus now says it will seek private funding.
About $311 million in payments for Australian data centre projects are due by June next year, though Firmus says two Tasmanian sites have already been funded.
The company also says it has $19.4 billion in future contracts with technology companies, and its accounts outline further commitments for submarine cables.
How Firmus raises money next will affect its ability to meet these obligations and expand, but the filings do not say whether payment schedules have changed.
Firmus’s abandoned attempt to go public has put billions of dollars in planned AI chip purchases and data centre commitments under scrutiny.
The company’s accounts show US$550 million in pre-payments due by December for chips for its Indonesian data centre project.
The accounts also list about US$311 million in payments for Australian data centre projects due by June next year.
Firmus had assumed proceeds from a public offering would help fund its chip purchases, but it now plans to seek private funding.
The company abandoned its planned float amid a souring of investor interest.
- Who
- Firmus, an Australian-founded data centre company.
- What
- Its abandoned public offering has raised questions about how it will meet billions of dollars in planned commitments.
- When
- The accounts were filed with ASIC on October 28, 2026. Payments are due by December and June next year.
- Where
- Firmus’s projects include a data centre in Batam, Indonesia, and data centres in Australia.
- Why
- Investor interest soured, and the company had expected the float to help fund its chip purchases.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Firmus was started.
Firmus raised money at a valuation of $15 billion, and its financial forecasts assumed a float would help fund chip purchases.
Firmus’s audited annual report was filed with ASIC.
US$550 million in pre-payments for chips for the Batam project is due.
Some investors are promised bonus shares if Firmus has not gone public by this date.
- Batam chip commitment
- US$8.3 billion
- Batam pre-payments due
- US$550 million by December 2026
- Australian project payments
- About US$311 million due by June 2027
- 2026 revenue
- US$50.8 million in the year to June
- Batam projected revenue
- US$25 billion to US$30 billion over six years
- Company valuation
- $15 billion in August 2026