October 8, 2026 — Sydney. The biggest AI infrastructure IPO of the year is wobbling before it even lists. Nvidia- and Blackstone-backed data center operator Firmus Technologies has cut its offer price to as low as A$8 a share, down from the A$11 it priced just a week ago, as it scrambles to keep the listing on track.
Why it matters: Firmus was supposed to be the proof that the AI data center boom has public-market legs. Instead, investors are balking at the price — and one Australian stock has already cratered on the news.
What happened
The Australian Financial Review reported on October 8 that Firmus is trying to hold its IPO price at A$8.25 after dropping the asking price from the original A$11. Reuters’ Breakingviews estimates that at the lower price — assuming the same number of shares are sold — the offer would raise A$5.9 billion (US$4.1 billion) instead of A$7.9 billion, and the company’s equity value would drop to A$33 billion from the roughly A$44 billion it was chasing.
The shares are still expected to start trading on the Australian Securities Exchange on October 23. About half of the IPO is being allocated to existing investors, Reuters reported earlier this week.
The fallout
The ripple effects are already visible. Shares in Maas Group, a construction-services company that owns 3.2% of Firmus and committed another A$300 million to it in August, plunged as much as 30% — its biggest intraday drop on record — after Reuters reported that Firmus might cut the price or delay the float. The slide wiped roughly A$694 million off Maas’ market value, a steep markdown for a company whose direct stake is only a few percent of Firmus.
Firmus itself was a rocket ship on paper: two operational data centers in Australia and Singapore, five more under development across Asia-Pacific, roughly A$30 billion in debt alongside its equity, and backers including Nvidia, Blackstone, Coatue, and Jane Street. It raised A$2 billion in a private round in August at a post-money valuation above A$10.5 billion.
Why it matters
Here’s the honest read: this is what the AI bubble debate looks like in real time. A week ago, indicative orders for the Firmus IPO reportedly exceeded the deal size. Now the company is shaving 27% off its ask price two weeks before listing. The demand for AI compute is real — but the price investors will pay for it clearly has limits, and they found Firmus’s first.
The Maas Group reaction is the more important signal. When a construction firm with a 3.2% stake loses A$694 million in market cap on float rumors, the market is pricing something bigger than one IPO: the fear that the whole AI infrastructure trade has gotten ahead of itself. Ray Dalio called AI a “classic bubble” at a Forbes conference this week; Firmus is now the test case everyone will cite.
Frequently asked questions
When does Firmus start trading?
October 23, 2026, on the Australian Securities Exchange, if the timetable holds.
What is the new Firmus IPO price?
As low as A$8 a share, down from the original A$11, with the company reportedly trying to hold at A$8.25.
How much will Firmus raise at the lower price?
Reuters’ Breakingviews estimates A$5.9 billion (US$4.1 billion) versus A$7.9 billion at the original price, assuming the share count stays the same.
Sources: Australian Financial Review via Reuters Breakingviews (Oct 8, 2026); Reuters on Firmus IPO pricing (Oct 1) and Maas Group reaction (Oct 8); Finimize.