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By Arasu Kannagi Basil (Reuters) -Fermi's shares opened 19% above the offer price in their Nasdaq debut on Wednesday, valuing the data center real estate investment trust at $14.8 billion amid surging investor enthusiasm for AI infrastructure stocks. The Amarillo, Texas-based company's stock opened at $25, compared with the offer price of $21. While development-stage firms have gone public before, its unusual for a company under a year old with no revenue to pursue an IPO at a $10 billion-plus valuation. "It (Fermi's IPO) speaks to the gold rush happening in AI infrastructure right now. It's a cash geyser," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs. Fermi sold 32.5 million shares at $21 each in an upsized IPO, after marketing them between $18 and $22. Founded in January 2025, Fermi secured a $12.5 billion valuation in the IPO, just months after issuing convertible bonds at a valuation of $3 billion. "Demand for AI-driven infrastructure — and Fermi's plan to pair it with its own modern power sources — has investors intrigued," said Troy Hooper, co-head of equity capital markets, Americas, at Mergermarket. "The company's political ties are seen as another tailwind." Co-founded by former Texas Governor and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Fermi has bold ambitions. The company is aiming to build the world's largest energy and data complex, powered by nuclear, natural gas and solar. BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME Project Matador, Fermi's flagship project, is expected to deliver 1.1 gigawatt of power by 2026 end and up to 11 GW at scale. A gigawatt of power is roughly half the Hoover Dam's full generating capacity, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Last month, Fermi entered a non-binding letter of intent with its first tenant for a 20-year agreement. Still, it does not expect tenant revenue to commence until 2027. "Any investor buying Fermi will need to have a mindset of "if you build it, they will come," Kennedy said. Analysts said execution will be key to sustain market enthusiasm, with investors expected to closely scrutinize signed contracts and progress on its ambitious buildout. A successful listing could pave the way for other long-duration, capital-intensive AI infrastructure bets, according to Hooper. Still, some caution persists. "History offers a cautionary note: many pre-revenue IPOs during the Dot-com era and the recent SPAC boom failed to live up to the hype and ended poorly," Hooper said. (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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(Reuters) -Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled a 365 Premium subscription plan for individuals at $19.99 a month with its Copilot artificial intelligence powered assistant. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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(Corrects 14th paragraph to say Auren Energia is controlled by two different companies, not a joint venture.) By Leticia Fucuchima SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Crypto mining companies are actively negotiating contracts with Brazilian electricity providers, such as Renova Energia, that would benefit from the South American country's surplus renewable power without burdening the grid during peak times. Following crypto heavyweight Tether, which announced in July an investment in the South American country, there are at least six negotiations for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as one for a larger project of up to 400 megawatts (MW), people from six different companies told Reuters.  Mining machines that solve complex mathematical problems to back crypto transactions have overloaded grids in multiple countries. However, in Brazil, where crypto mining hardly exists today, they could help address a chronic clean electricity oversupply problem, which has cost energy companies almost $1 billion in the last two years, according to wind and solar industry groups ABEEolica and Absolar. Tether, the world's largest digital assets company, said it is leveraging its recent acquisition of Adecoagro to tap its renewable energy, such as the electricity coming from sugarcane mills, to power a bitcoin mining operation in Brazil. Renewable energy supplier Renova told Reuters it is making one of the first major investments in the crypto sector, a $200 million mining project for an undisclosed client in the state of Bahia in the northeast of Brazil. The 100-MW venture consists of six data centers that will draw power from a wind farm.  "We aim to expand the company and enter new markets," Renova CEO Sergio Brasil said. "We realized that by providing all the infrastructure (for crypto mining), we were one step ahead of our competitors." Crypto miners can rapidly scale operations up or down based on energy availability, providing a flexible consumer base for excess energy without straining the grid during peak demand periods.   Brazil’s energy oversupply stems from years of government incentives that spurred a boom in wind and solar investments. But the pace of development has outstripped the expansion of transmission infrastructure, and some plants now waste as much as 70% of the power they generate.  “There's tons of potential,” John Blount, one of the founders of Enegix, a crypto miner based in Kazakhstan, told Reuters. “We will try somehow to elaborate mobile data centers,” he added, that would be plugged directly into power plants.  Enegix is looking into deals in Brazil's northeast, the region suffering from the biggest energy surplus, including tapping into solar and wind power in the state of Piaui.  Penguin, which is based in Paraguay, one of the world's biggest crypto hubs, said it is negotiating projects too, but declined to share any details. And China's Bitmain, one of the largest manufacturers of mining equipment, is also exploring opportunities, according to an executive who asked not to be named. MINERS SEEN AS 'DIAMONDS'  Energy providers have also expressed an interest in crypto projects. Casa dos Ventos, which partners with France's TotalEnergies on wind power, and U.S.-based investment firm Global Infrastructure Partners' (GIP) Atlas Renewable Energy confirmed their intentions to Reuters. French utility Engie's subsidiary in Brazil and Auren Energia, a company that is controlled by Votorantim Energia and CPP Investments, Canada Pension Plan's global investment arm, are also looking into projects to monetize their unused energy, three sources told Reuters. The companies declined to comment. Providers look “at consumers like this as if they were diamonds,” said Raphael Gomes, a lawyer who has been working on several crypto projects. Companies are assessing different models, including buying equipment to mine on their own. In Bahia, electricity provider Eletrobras, the biggest in the country, is installing ASIC mining machines, along with a microgrid fed by a wind turbine, solar panels and batteries, for a pilot project.  "We want to understand how this industry works," said Juliano Dantas, Eletrobras' vice president for innovation.  The work could help energy providers prepare to enter the data center industry, which the Brazilian government is trying to attract as a strategy to grow the clean energy economy.   There are concerns about the industry's water use, as some of the regions with the biggest amount of unused energy also suffer from droughts. Brazil also has infrastructure problems and lacks regulations for cryptocurrency mining. "We went after 400 MW — it was like a Sisyphean journey, a bit difficult," said Bruno Vaccotti, an executive at Penguin. "We're still exploring Brazil, but it's not that easy."  (Reporting by Letícia Fucuchina in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in Paris and Samuel Chen in Shanghai; writing by Manuela AndreoniEditing by Marguerita Choy)

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(Reuters) -Tesla has raised lease prices for all its vehicles in the U.S. after a $7,500 federal tax credit that helped boost electric vehicle sales expired, according to the company's website on Wednesday. The change follows the end of tax incentives under sweeping legislation passed by Congress, which eliminated the $7,500 credit for new EV leases and purchases, as well as a $4,000 credit for used EVs, effective September 30. Tesla and its rivals had been passing these credits on to customers through competitive lease offers. The monthly lease of the electric vehicle manufacturer's best-selling Model Y increased to a range between $529 and $599, from a range of $479 to $529. Prices of all vehicles, however, remain unchanged. Model 3 lease prices touched a range of $429 to $759 per month, from a range of $349 to $699. Demand for battery-powered models is already showing signs of a slowdown after rapid growth earlier in the decade. Sales could drop after the credits dry up, auto executives and analysts have warned. Reuters reported last month that Tesla's U.S. market share dropped to a near eight-year low in August, as buyers chose electric vehicles from a growing stable of rivals, according to data from research firm Cox Automotive. Tesla, which once held more than 80% of the EV market in the United States, accounted for only 38% of the country's total EV sales in August, according to early data from Cox. (Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru and Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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(Reuters) -Microsoft's Xbox has raised the price of the highest tier of Game Pass by 50% and expanded its offerings under the videogame subscription service to include more games, enhanced cloud streaming and a revamped rewards system. Xbox will now charge $29.99 per month for a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, $10 higher than earlier, the console maker said in a post on Wednesday. In return, these subscribers will get more than 75 first-day releases a year, including premium titles such as "Call of Duty: Black Ops 7", and "Ninja Gaiden 4." Microsoft had last month also announced price hikes for its consoles in the U.S. for a second time this year due to tariff-induced cost pressures. Xbox has made big bets on its subscription service by offering more premium titles and cloud gaming access, as it seeks to establish a foothold in the games-as-a-service industry to counter sluggish console sales and economic uncertainty. Alongside the price increase, the company rebranded its cheapest and middle tiers to "Essential" and "Premium", and included unlimited cloud gaming in them, as a part of its push to allow gamers to stream titles anywhere. Prices for the other two tiers remain unchanged, Xbox said. (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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LONDON (Reuters) -The British government has issued a new order to Apple to create a backdoor into its cloud storage service, this time targeting only British users' data, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Britain dropped a mandate for the iPhone maker to provide a backdoor that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American as well as British citizens, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in August. U.S. lawmakers had raised concerns that such a move could allow encrypted user data to be exploited by cyber criminals and authoritarian governments. APPLE SAYS IT WILL NEVER CREATE A BACKDOOR Apple, which has said it would never build a backdoor into its encrypted services or devices, appealed against the earlier order at the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), the IPT confirmed in April. A British government spokesperson said: "We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices. "We will always take all actions necessary at the domestic level to keep UK citizens safe." Apple withdrew its Advanced Data Protection feature for UK users in February after the initial order.  The feature allows iPhone and Mac users to ensure that only they — and not even Apple — can unlock data stored on its cloud. "Apple is still unable to offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users, and current UK users will eventually need to disable this security feature," Apple said on Wednesday. "ADP protects iCloud data with end-to-end encryption, which means the data can only be decrypted by the user who owns it, and only on their trusted devices." The company said it was committed to offering users the highest level of security and it was hopeful it would be able to do so in the future in Britain.  "As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will," it added. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh and Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle and Sarah Young in LondonEditing by Tomasz Janowski, Sarah Young and David Goodman)

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By Arasu Kannagi Basil (Reuters) -Shares of Fermi were indicated to open 31% above the offer price in their Nasdaq debut on Wednesday, giving the data center real estate investment trust a potential valuation of nearly $16.3 billion. The Amarillo, Texas-based company's stock was likely to open at $27.55, compared with the offer price of $21. While development-stage firms have gone public before, its unusual for a company under a year old with no revenue to pursue an IPO at a $10 billion-plus valuation. "It (Fermi's IPO) speaks to the gold rush happening in AI infrastructure right now. It's a cash geyser," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs. Fermi sold 32.5 million shares at $21 each in an upsized IPO, after marketing them between $18 and $22. Founded in January 2025, Fermi secured a $12.5 billion valuation in the IPO, just months after issuing convertible bonds at a valuation of $3 billion. "Demand for AI-driven infrastructure — and Fermi's plan to pair it with its own modern power sources — has investors intrigued," said Troy Hooper, co-head of equity capital markets, Americas, at Mergermarket. "The company's political ties are seen as another tailwind." Co-founded by former Texas Governor and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Fermi has bold ambitions. The company is aiming to build the world's largest energy and data complex, powered by nuclear, natural gas and solar. BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME Project Matador, Fermi's flagship project, is expected to deliver 1.1 gigawatt of power by 2026 end and up to 11 GW at scale. A gigawatt of power is roughly half the Hoover Dam's full generating capacity, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Last month, Fermi entered a non-binding letter of intent with its first tenant for a 20-year agreement. Still, it does not expect tenant revenue to commence until 2027. "Any investor buying Fermi will need to have a mindset of "if you build it, they will come," Kennedy said. Analysts said execution will be key to sustain market enthusiasm, with investors expected to closely scrutinize signed contracts and progress on its ambitious buildout. A successful listing could pave the way for other long-duration, capital-intensive AI infrastructure bets, according to Hooper. Still, some caution persists. "History offers a cautionary note: many pre-revenue IPOs during the Dot-com era and the recent SPAC boom failed to live up to the hype and ended poorly," Hooper said. (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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By Gabriel Araujo and Luciana Magalhaes SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian cryptocurrency firm OranjeBTC is scheduled to begin trading on the local stock exchange B3 next week as it tries to challenge the dominance of fintech Meliuz, the first listed firm to have a bitcoin treasury strategy in the country. OranjeBTC's goal is to attract more local investors, thus expanding its treasury reserve, and teach stockholders about the bitcoin market using their own learning platform, founder and CEO Guilherme Gomes said. Certain types of investors who may be prohibited by regulation from buying bitcoins directly can invest in the asset through publicly traded companies, Gomes said. "Bitcoin will change financial systems as we know it, and will reshape markets," he said. "Our main focus is bitcoin at the highest level."  Before arriving at the Sao Paulo stock exchange, OranjeBTC attracted the backing of some well-known international investors, including Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas, the owner of Banco Azteca, Gomes said. Other backers include Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, crypto brokerage FalconX, and Adam Back, a leading name in bitcoin mining.  OranjeBTC currently owns a treasury reserve of 3,650 bitcoins, Gomes said. At current prices, that would be valued at more than $420 million.  Instead of a traditional IPO, the company will go public in a “reverse initial public offering” by listing shares through a recently acquired education-focused subsidiary, Intergraus, that already trades on B3, Gomes said.   (Reporting by Luciana Magalhaes and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Sergio Non)

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(Reuters) -Shares of Fermi, co-founded by former Texas Governor and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, were indicated to open 100% above the offer price in their Nasdaq debut on Wednesday, giving the data center real estate investment trust a potential valuation of nearly $25 billion. The Amarillo, Texas-based company's stock was likely to open at $42, compared with the offer price of $21. While development-stage firms have gone public before, its unusual for a company under a year old with no revenue to pursue an IPO at a $10 billion-plus valuation. "It (Fermi's IPO) speaks to the gold rush happening in AI infrastructure right now. It's a cash geyser," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs. Amarillo, Texas-based Fermi sold 32.5 million shares at $21 each in an upsized IPO, after marketing them between $18 and $22. Founded in January 2025, Fermi secured a $12.5 billion valuation in the IPO, just months after issuing convertible bonds at a valuation of $3 billion. "Demand for AI-driven infrastructure — and Fermi's plan to pair it with its own modern power sources — has investors intrigued," said Troy Hooper, co-head of equity capital markets, Americas, at Mergermarket. "The company's political ties are seen as another tailwind." Co-founded by former Texas Governor and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Fermi has bold ambitions. The company is aiming to build the world's largest energy and data complex, powered by nuclear, natural gas and solar. BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME Project Matador, Fermi's flagship project, is expected to deliver 1.1 gigawatt of power by 2026 end and up to 11 GW at scale. A gigawatt of power is roughly half the Hoover Dam's full generating capacity, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Last month, Fermi entered a non-binding letter of intent with its first tenant for a 20-year agreement. Still, it does not expect tenant revenue to commence until 2027. "Any investor buying Fermi will need to have a mindset of "if you build it, they will come," Kennedy said. Analysts said execution will be key to sustain market enthusiasm, with investors expected to closely scrutinize signed contracts and progress on its ambitious buildout. A successful listing could pave the way for other long-duration, capital-intensive AI infrastructure bets, according to Hooper. Still, some caution persists. "History offers a cautionary note: many pre-revenue IPOs during the Dot-com era and the recent SPAC boom failed to live up to the hype and ended poorly," Hooper said. (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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By Dhwani Pandya and Nandan Mandayam MUMBAI/BENGALURU (Reuters) -LG Electronics is looking to make India its global manufacturing hub, an executive of its Indian unit said on Wednesday, as the appliance maker revives its long-delayed listing in the country and targets a valuation of $8.73 billion. LG Electronics India [LGEL.NS], which has invested $600 million in its upcoming factory in Andhra Pradesh state, will open its 116 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) initial public offering on October 7 for retail investors. Large anchor investors can place their bids a day earlier, it said. The unit has set a price band of 1,080 to 1,140 rupees per share for its IPO, which is an offer-for-sale where the parent company is offloading a 15% stake. LG favours India as a manufacturing hub for its competitive labour costs and strong domestic demand, Chief Sales Officer Sanjay Chitkara said. The upcoming factory – the company's third in the country – would play a key role in opening newer markets, such as Europe, in addition to the 47 countries LG already ships goods to, Chitkara said. The company, which is India's second-largest appliance maker, currently exports goods worth $160 million, or 6% of its overall revenue. LG competes with Whirlpool and Samsung in the domestic market, which was worth $38.2 billion as of 2024. It sells products such as refrigerators, washing machines and televisions. LG Electronics aims to expand its premium offerings and scale into smaller cities to boost growth, Chitkara said. Having initially filed for an IPO last December, LG Electronics India had planned for a listing by May but delayed the share sale citing market volatility. It now joins South Korean firm Hyundai Motor Co and U.S.-based office space provider WeWork in listing its Indian units in a market that "offers high valuations because of the abundant domestic money supply," according to Emkay Global Financial Services' Yatin Singh. The IPO also comes at a time when India has lowered consumption taxes on several goods, including electronics, to 18% from 28% to spur demand during the lucrative festive season. Together with non-bank lender Tata Capital's $1.75 billion issue – the country's largest this year – these IPOs will kick off a busy third quarter for India's primary markets, potentially fetching $8 billion in proceeds. Companies in India have raised about 909.8 billion rupees through IPOs, as of September 30, up 18% from the same period a year ago, according to data compiled by LSEG. (Reporting by Dhwani Pandya in Mumbai, Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru, Chris Thomas in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Shailesh Kuber, Alan Barona and Shreya Biswas)

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