Former Rabbitohs player Wes Maas spent more than two decades slowly but surely building a diversified industrials company out of Dubbo. That's why his sudden sidestep has so rattled investors.
On Thursday, Maas Group announced it had sold its entire construction materials division — half of the larger company — for $1.7 billion. In the same breath, it revealed a $100 million punt on pre-IPO data centre operator Firmus.
Maas Group’s share price plunged 26% on the back of the news, which blindsided the market, wiping $500 million from its market cap and $250 million from Maas’ personal wealth.
The concern in the market is that the move wasn’t communicated earlier, leaving many investors with whiplash as the company swapped a stable materials business for no debt, a big bag of cash and a lottery ticket in ASX-hopeful Firmus.
