By Scott Murdoch and Christine Chen
SYDNEY, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Australia's Firmus, a data centre operator backed by Nvidia, shelved its $5 billion initial public offering, citing market volatility and conditions, and said it would opt for a private fundraising round instead.
Firmus' IPO would have been the second-largest new share sale in Australia's history but met lukewarm demand, a warning sign that investors remain selective about AI issuers even as the artificial intelligence boom drives global
markets.
"Firmus will now pursue capital from the private markets and consider alternative public and private market options," Firmus said in a statement, adding the terms did not correctly reflect the strength of its business and long-term growth outlook.
"The board therefore concluded that proceeding with the offer was not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders," Firmus said.
The company initially planned to sell its shares A$11 each, giving Firmus an equity valuation of $30.6 billion, nearly triple the $10.5 billion valuation it achieved following a fundraising round at the start of August.
Firmus is backed by major AI companies and investors Nvidia, Coatue Management, along with Blackstone's and Jane Street.
The company is an AI-infrastructure and cloud-services company that designs and operates modular AI factories using proprietary energy and cooling technology. It currently only has two online in Melbourne and Singapore. Five more planned across the Asia-Pacific are in early stages of development.
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch, Christine Chen and Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Sonali Paul)
