Blackstone-backed AirTrunk is delaying its planned $1.5 billion REIT IPO in Singapore until next year amid market volatility, higher interest rates, and cautious investor demand for infrastructure deals. According to CNBC TV18, the company had been planning to start formally gauging investor interest for the Singapore REIT IPO at the start of October, but higher interest rates and market volatility are tempering investor demand. To sweeten the deal for investors, AirTrunk had considered offering a roughly 6% yield for its REIT, up from a previously envisaged 5.5%, but September's interest rate rise in the US and the prospect of further increases mean investors remain cautious. REITs are rate-sensitive and therefore come under pressure when borrowing costs are high, with Singapore's main REIT Index having tumbled 12% since late July.
The global IPO market is experiencing significant setbacks as several high-profile companies have withdrawn, delayed, or shelved their public offerings in 2026. According to Reuters, Australia's Firmus became the latest casualty on Friday, scrapping a planned stock market listing that would have ranked as the country's second-largest IPO. The Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence data centre operator had been seeking a valuation of around $30.6 billion before citing market volatility and prevailing conditions for its decision to abandon the planned listing. At $5.5 billion, the closely-watched IPO would have ranked as the fourth-largest public offering globally so far this year, according to Dealogic data. However, the IPO met lukewarm demand amid growing investor scrutiny of AI sector valuations and sustainability of massive infrastructure investments.
The Firmus withdrawal is reverberating through Asia's booming AI infrastructure market, making investors far pickier about artificial intelligence deals that hinge on future earnings. According to Bloomberg, IPOs, placements and block trades have raised nearly $250 billion in the Asia-Pacific region this year, adding to the 2025 tally of about $260 billion. Max Herron-Vellacott, a portfolio manager at Private Portfolio Managers in Sydney, noted that investors are asking "who pays for it, and at what cost of capital," with the risk versus return calculus getting greater scrutiny. Recent debuts have shown signs of investor unease, with Apple Inc. supplier Luxshare Precision Industry Co. plunging 20% and AI infrastructure firm Zhongji Innolight Co. down about 7% since their Hong Kong debuts in July. Chinese model makers like Z.AI Co. and MiniMax Group Inc. have corrected more than 70% from their record highs.
The IPO collapse was triggered by CDC Data Centres CEO Greg Boorer's announcement that its plan to develop 1.6 gigawatts of AI factories with Firmus was no longer underway, according to Bloomberg reports. Firmus initially planned to sell shares at A$11 each, giving it an equity valuation of $30.6 billion, nearly triple the $10.5 billion it achieved following a fundraising round at the start of August. However, investors grew concerned about the company's debt pile of about $30 billion, according to analysts working for the joint lead managers, which would have given the company an enterprise value of $60 billion. The term sheet sent by IPO book managers indicated indicative offers were already enough to cover the transaction, but investors started pulling orders after learning that more than half the stock would be sold by existing investors from day one, which could have hurt Firmus's early trading performance. For Firmus, of its 912 megawatt pipeline, just 46MW has been built, with investors being asked to value the company on future earnings contingent on successful data centre delivery.
The experiences of Firmus, Oura, KNDS and PhonePe show that the challenges extend across sectors and geographies, from artificial intelligence and fintech to insurance, advanced materials and defence. According to Reuters, the ASX has been grappling with a declining number of listed companies after several major privatisations in recent years and a weak pipeline of new listings. Firmus co-founders Oliver Curtis and Tim Rosenfield announced in a letter to shareholders that "the company will now pursue capital from private markets and consider alternative international public market options to support its next phase of growth." The company is exploring raising up to $3 billion from existing investors, as reported by Bloomberg, though Firmus declined to comment on its funding plans. Winston Ma, executive director of the Global Public Investment Funds Forum at NYU School of Law, noted that "the Firmus withdrawal is a clear signal that public markets are repricing AI infrastructure," with sponsors needing stronger contracted off-take, clearer visibility on energized megawatts, and more conservative leverage assumptions.
