澳洲AI主题融资活跃，麦格理称投资需求将推动资本市场交易

The investor demand for exposure to companies along the artificial intelligence supply chain is set to accelerate capital-market activity in Australia, according to the nation’s top dealmaker.

Initial public offerings, placements, rights offerings and block trades raised about $11.4 billion in the first half of 2026 in Australia, compared with about $10.6 billion in the same period last year data compiled by Bloomberg show. Follow-on share sales tied to the AI buildout accounted for a large portion, with data center operator NEXTDC Ltd. raising A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) in Australia’s largest deal this year. Network software provider Megaport Ltd.’s entitlement offer in June was another standout, with A$827.3 million in proceeds.

“We are seeing very significant investor appetite across institutional and retail for the AI thematic,” according to Luke Salter, head of equity capital markets for Australia and New Zealand at Macquarie Group. The bank ranked first in underwriting equity offerings for the ANZ region, with $1.15 billion of deal in the first half, Bloomberg’s league tables show. “It’s a rising tide that lifts all boats.”

Fundraising by AI-related companies has been the engine of capital markets this year, driving mega deals around the world. Even as Australia lacked those marquee deals, IPOs in the country raised the most in four years in the twelve months through June, according to ASX Ltd. That number is set to grow, with milestone deals in the pipeline including the possible debuts of data center provider Firmus Technologies Pty Ltd. and cloud computing provider SharonAI Holdings Inc.

Firmus is one of the most hotly anticipated IPOs, which could raise as much as $2 billion, according to the Australian Financial Review. That would make it the country’s largest since Healthscope Ltd.’s offering in 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The risk for the second half of the year is that a volatile stock market and challenging economic outlook could make it more difficult for companies to reach valuation targets, especially in AI-related sectors. Across the Asia-Pacific region, selloffs in the largest South Korean, Japan and Taiwan semiconductor names in the last two months has dented sentiment.

Resurgent oil and weaker metals prices following the breakdown of a ceasefire in the Middle East could hurt investor demand for consumer and mining companies. Furniture retailer Koala Co Ltd. and Valiant Gold Ltd., which both debuted this year, are trading below their offer prices.

“Investors are weighing up risks more carefully, and that’s reflected in the muted returns for many IPOs,” said Simon James, partner at HLB Mann Judd in Sydney. IPOs are also getting smaller, reflecting “a more cautious investment environment, shaped by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, higher interest rates, and softer business confidence.”

Still, investor appetite for equity issuance is likely to persist as more companies seek opportunities to cash in on longer-term AI demand. A pipeline of AI-linked IPOs across global markets could boost sentiment for Australia’s own AI prospects, according to UBS Group AG.

“When large, high profile transactions such as SpaceX go well, that is certainly additive to investor sentiment,” said Matthew Beggs, UBS’ head of equity capital markets for Australia and New Zealand, while declining to comment specifically on Firmus and SharonAI. “The market has proven over the last 18 months a willingness to look through some of the volatility and noise in order to get access to attractive new opportunities.”

Moonshot Plans IPO in Six Months After China AI BreakthroughSK Hynix Climbs 13% After Record $26.5 Billion US OfferingSpaceX Slump Wipes Out $1 Trillion in Market Value From Peak