Oct 29 (Reuters) – Australia’s corporate regulator is investigating the role of bankers in promoting Nvidia-backed Firmus’ IPO, The Australian reported on Thursday.
Here are the details:
• The data centre operator shelved its $5 billion IPO on October 9 and had said that it was opting for alternative fundraising options, including raising capital from private markets
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) chair Sarah Court, in a response to Liberal Senator Dave Sharma’s letter, said the regulator is “making targeted inquiries of the joint leader managers” of the Firmus IPO, The Australian reported
• The book-building for the IPO was led by Bank of America, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Australian broker Morgans. Bank of America declined to comment when contacted by Reuters, while the other two US banks and Morgans did not immediately respond
• The regulator is aware of the questions raised regarding the accuracy of information provided to institutional and wholesale investors during the marketing and book-building process, Court wrote in her letter to Sharma, according to The Australian
• The IPO’s A$11-per-share pricing came under pressure as investors fretted about the firm’s debt pile and its lack of a track record in building AI data centres, among other reasons
• ASIC did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment
(Reporting by Keshav Singh Chundawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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