The much-anticipated float of artificial intelligence infrastructure firm Firmus Technologies has been called off, marking a significant setback for what was slated to be a $44 billion listing. Bankers pulled the plug on Friday morning, moving from discussing valuation adjustments to an outright cancellation. Firmus Technologies is an artificial intelligence infrastructure firm that operates a profitable AI factory in Singapore with hyperscale clients. The company has strategic backing from Nvidia, securing priority access to AI chips, and boasts an expanding energy-secured pipeline in South Australia and ambitious international growth plans. This unravelling highlights a challenging period for active fund managers on the Australian sharemarket, though Firmus’s rapid private valuation growth had already delivered substantial returns for a select group of early investors.
MST Marquee analysts attribute Firmus’s struggle to the evolving economics of the Australian active funds management industry. Investors have grown increasingly sceptical of new shares hitting the market, a sentiment exacerbated by local equity funds experiencing a tough few years for performance, closures, and mandate losses. This shift is partly due to a growing preference for cheaper index-tracking passive funds, which offer less support to companies seeking capital prior to index inclusion. MST senior analyst Hasan Tevfik noted a “misalignment between the company’s posse of bankers and the realities of the Australian funds-management industry.” Some analysts also pointed to index provider S&P Dow Jones’s reluctance to relax its index-entry rules as another impediment.
Despite the public market disappointment, Firmus’s meteoric private valuation over the past year significantly bolstered returns for several influential fund managers. Ellerston Capital, for instance, achieved a stonking 47 per cent return in the year to September from its $147 million stake in Firmus within its JAADE fund. Benjamin Haas’ Tectonic opportunities fund rocketed an impressive 166.5 per cent in the 2026 financial year, largely fuelled by its Firmus position. Other beneficiaries included Regal’s emerging companies fund and WAM Active’s portfolio, which also saw substantial gains. David Paradice’s firm likewise gained from its exposure, though he acknowledged the extreme uncertainty surrounding the valuation and prospects of such high-growth private companies.
