Maas Group tumbles on AI pivot as $1.2 billion materials exit spooks investors

Adds Heidelberg Materials milestone in paragraph 4

By Sherin Sunny and Roshan Thomas

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Australia's Maas Group MGH.AX said on Thursday it would sell its building materials division for up to A$1.70 billion ($1.19 billion) to pivot towards artificial intelligence-related infrastructure, sending its shares crashing more than 26%.

The divestment is part of the Australian construction materials, equipment and services provider's broader shift towards data center construction, a sector that has attracted investor interest as demand grows for AI support systems.

Maas Group will sell its Construction Materials unit to Germany's Heidelberg Materials' HEIG.DE local arm, HMA, and invest A$100 million in Nvidia-backed NVDA.O AI infrastructure firm Firmus Group for a 1.7% stake.

For Heidelberg Materials it marks the biggest deal since it bought Italcementi for 6.7 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in 2016.

SHARES PLUNGE MORE THAN 26%

Maas Group, founded more than two decades ago by former rugby player Wes Maas, is selling a unit that generated about half of its core operating earnings in fiscal 2025.

Shares of the firm plunged as much as 26.1% in the steepest one-day decline ever, while the broader benchmark index .AXJO fell 0.4%.

Ron Shamgar, head of Australian equities at TAMIM Asset Management, said the market was surprised the company is exiting a strong construction business in Queensland, riding population growth and the Brisbane Olympics build-up, "and instead... going into the capex-heavy AI/data center sector".

Australian data center landlord Goodman Group GMG.AX has already embarked on a shift towards data center development.

Maas Group's A$100 million minority investment in Firmus comes after it secured an A$200 million electrical infrastructure contract with Firmus Technologies in mid-December.

After the completion of the transaction, expected in the second half of 2026, about 1,140 employees will transfer with the construction materials business to HMA, ensuring continuity of operations, it said.

($1 = 1.4292 Australian dollars)

($1 = 0.8474 euros)

(Reporting by Sherin Sunny and Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Alan Barona, Rashmi Aich and Jan Harvey)

((Sherin.Sunny@thomsonreuters.com))