Data centre operator Firmus said to plan allocating half of IPO to existing investors
This positions Nvidia and Blackstone to increase their stakes
[MELBOURNE] Firmus Grid plans to allocate about half of the shares in its initial public offering to existing shareholders, putting Nvidia and Blackstone in a position to increase their stakes, according to people familiar with the matter.
The data centre operator received indications from investors well in excess of the offer size, said the people, who asked not to be identified to discuss private considerations.
Firmus is seeking to raise as much as US$5.5 billion, including a greenshoe option, in one of Australia’s largest-ever IPOs.
The close of the bookbuilding process was also moved up to Thursday (Oct 8) from Friday, the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing and details of the deal may change, the people said. Firmus declined to comment.
Firmus priced the IPO at A$11 a share, implying a valuation of about A$43.7 billion (US$30.3 billion), falling short of earlier expectations.
The listing is shaping up to be one of the largest-ever listings in Australia, on par with Medibank’s offering in 2014, which raised just a hair under US$5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
That would be a welcome boost to the country’s primary market, where proceeds this year are just over US$1 billion, after surpassing US$2 billion in each of the previous two years.
The company has inked a number of large deals with high-profile clients as it seeks to capitalise on artificial intelligence demand.
It secured US$2 billion in commitments from investors including Nvidia and Blackstone.
Other existing shareholders include Jane Street, while Firmus also raised US$505 million in a Coatue Management-led funding round in April.
The proceeds would fund purchases of graphics processing units for its first data centre project in Batam, Indonesia, being developed with DayOne Data Centers, as part of an eight-year partnership with Nvidia. BLOOMBERG
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