Firmus Technologies float to yield $215M banker fees

• Firmus Technologies plans a $7.2 billion listing that could generate up to $215 million in advisory fees.
• The deal involves major investment banks and is set to become Australia's second-largest initial public offering.
• High capital requirements for data centre infrastructure are driving substantial equity and debt financing deals.

Firmus Technologies has appointed four joint lead managers for its planned $7.2 billion initial public offering, which is set to generate up to $215 million in total advisory fees.

The fee pool compares to the $60 million generated during the $2 billion Myer listing in 2009 and $59.2 million from the $4.4 billion QR National float.

“There is quite a substantial pipeline of developments that needs to be funded,” said PwC partner Clara Cutajar.

The transaction involves underwriting fees of 2.2%, a management fee of 0.55%, and a discretionary incentive fee of 0.25%.

The company stated that trading is expected to begin on October 23, following an offering that ranks behind only the $10 billion Telstra transaction in 1997.

The planned transaction exceeds the previous largest float of the year, which was the L1 Gold Fund raising $662 million.

Advisers are competing for a broader data centre development pipeline that industry estimates value at up to $150 billion.