Questions surround proposed multibillion-dollar Firmus IPO amid Tasmania datacentre backlash

Firmus Technologies is preparing for an anticipated initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange later this month. The offering is designed to raise $7bn from investors, according to the supplied source, which describes the planned listing as potentially the second-biggest IPO in Australian history.

The company is developing datacentres in Tasmania that the report calls “AI factories.” Construction is under way at a site near Launceston. Kayla Thompson, who lives nearby, said she can see the construction activity from her balcony, while her teenage stepchildren have a clearer view from their classroom window.

The report says Thompson and many of her neighbours did not realise Firmus had plans to build datacentres in Tasmania until after construction began. The account places the development amid a broader backlash over datacentres, but the supplied material does not provide further details about the objections or the project’s approvals.

Investors have questioned Firmus’s forecasts, with some describing them as “a little bit of a fairytale,” according to the source. The supplied records do not state the company’s response to those criticisms, the expected listing date, or whether the proposed fundraising target has changed.