Maas Group (ASX:MGH) shares closed 14.8% higher at A$3.80 on Friday 16 October 2026, according to FNArena data, after the company launched a buy-back of up to about 20% of its shares. It also said its work for Firmus remains on track, a week after the data centre group pulled its ASX listing.
The new buy-back
According to Maas Group’s corporate update and buy-back notice:
- Size: up to 70,325,627 shares, about 20% of issued capital
- Timing: started on 16 October 2026 and ends no later than 23 September 2027
- Approval: shareholders approved it at the AGM on 24 September 2026
This comes straight after Maas Group finished its previous buy-back. It bought back 36,379,521 shares, about 10% of its capital, for A$164.5 million since February. That included 3,115,368 shares bought on Thursday alone at A$3.30 to A$3.60.
Why Maas Group can afford it
The company received A$1.61 billion when the sale of its construction materials business settled on 1 October, with up to A$120 million more tied to milestones. It said it had about A$1.7 billion of available liquidity at that date, including about A$600 million in cash, and had repaid its Australian syndicated bank facilities.
What about Firmus?
Firmus withdrew its ASX listing application on 9 October, citing market volatility, and plans to raise money from private markets instead. Maas Group shares had already been sliding over the Firmus IPO, as we covered in our Firmus IPO report, and fell further after the withdrawal.
In Friday’s update, Maas Group said:
- Its electrical business JLE has received Firmus work orders worth about A$1.1 billion across FY26 and FY27
- It has been paid A$373 million so far
- The work orders are on track for completion by the end of calendar 2027
What insiders are doing
The buy-back is quietly lifting founder Wes Maas’s control. A substantial holder notice lodged on Friday shows Wes and Emma Maas’s voting power rose from 50.62% to 55.05%, even though their holding stayed at 178,908,133 shares. The increase came because Maas Group cancelled 28,456,119 shares it had bought back.
If the new buy-back is completed, their percentage stake will rise further without them buying a single share. Our Guzman y Gomez buy-back report explains why investors track buy-back notices closely.
Still well below its highs
Even after Friday’s jump, Maas Group shares remain about 44% below the A$6.78 they closed at on 6 October, according to Market Index.
What Maas Group investors should watch
- Daily buy-back notices, to see how quickly the company is buying
- Firmus’s private capital raising, which affects the value of Maas Group’s investment
- Further substantial holder notices as the Maas family’s stake rises
- Refinancing, with Maas Group planning new longer-term bank facilities
Bottom line
Maas Group is using the proceeds of its A$1.61 billion asset sale to buy back up to a fifth of its shares, and the market liked the message on Friday. The buy-back also strengthens Wes Maas’s control, which minority shareholders should keep in mind.
