AI data centre company Firmus, which is developing sites in northern Tasmania, has withdrawn its application to list on the ASX, citing market volatility.
Co-founder Oliver Curtis had targeted a $44 billion valuation for the company, but prospective investors pulled back.
In a statement, Firmus said it had considered “recent market volatility and prevailing market conditions”.
The board decided the terms on which the offer could go ahead “would not appropriately reflect the strength of the company’s business and long-term growth outlook”, the statement said.
The company will now look for funding from private investors while it weighs up other options.
“Firmus will now pursue capital from the private markets and consider alternative public and private market options,” the company said.
Firmus said it would give shareholders more information as those options develop.
Firmus is building a $2 billion AI factory at St Leonards, near Launceston. In August, George Town Council approved its 288-megawatt AI factory at Bell Bay.
A development application has also been lodged for a third site at Wesley Vale.
In March, Firmus signed a three-year deal with government-owned retailer Aurora Energy for up to 104 megawatts to power the St Leonards site. The government has said the deal was set at market rates and was not subsidised.
When fully developed, the three sites are expected to need about 444 megawatts, which would make Firmus Tasmania’s largest electricity user.
Earlier this week, the company revealed the end of its $73.3 billion partnership with data centre operator CDC. On Thursday, it pulled out of giving evidence to a federal parliamentary inquiry into artificial intelligence.
Greens MP Vica Bayley said on Thursday that Tasmanians’ mistrust of the company was “very well placed” and that the Rockliff government had “rolled out the red carpet” for Firmus.
Asked the same day whether the float troubles could derail the proposed data centres, government minister Bridget Archer said the company’s affairs were “a matter for Firmus”.
