Ecolab Inc. has announced it will acquire CoolIT Systems (Calgary, Alberta), a liquid cooling technology company specialized in cooling next-gen AI data centers. Ecolab will pay approximately $4.75 billion in cash at the closing of the transaction; this represents multiples of 29x and 24x estimated adjusted EBITDA for the next 12 months and 2027, respectively, for CoolIT, Ecolab said.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
CoolIT is expected to generate approximately $550 million in sales over the next 12 months, Ecolab said. Ecolab added that the acquisition will grow the company’s global water segment organic sales by 2% and the company’s total sales by 1%.
“AI is transforming the demands on data centers, and liquid cooling is one of the critical technologies that makes advanced computing possible,” said Christophe Beck, Ecolab chairman and CEO. “By bringing together CoolIT’s engineered cooling technologies with Ecolab’s expertise in water, chemistry and digital service, we can provide our customers a complete cooling solution that improves performance and reliability while reducing water and energy use.”
CoolIT is a pure-play data center liquid cooling company with end-to-end capabilities that designs and manufactures liquid cooling systems, including coolant distribution units (CDUs), cold plates and direct-to-chip cooling technologies, Ecolab said. As data centers shift from air cooling to liquid cooling to support rising computing demands, Ecolab expects CoolIT’s technologies to provide the performance needed for advanced AI workloads.
Ecolab and CoolIT’s integrated solution will help AI data centers improve performance, reduce downtime and lower water use across their operations, Ecolab said. The acquisition enables Ecolab to accelerate its data-center cooling business by adding technologies including CDUs, cold plates, liquid loops and rack manifolds, with substantial cross-selling opportunities, the company said.
Ecolab expects the deal to double its global high-tech market opportunity from $5 billion to $10 billion.
CoolIT also contributes advanced engineering, design and validation capabilities, highlighted by custom-designed solutions for leading AI chip developers, including NVIDIA and AMD, together with manufacturing and supply-chain expertise to support rapid scaling, Ecolab said.
Outlook
Ecolab expects first-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the $1.69-$1.71 range, rising 13%-14% compared with adjusted diluted EPS of $1.50 a year ago.
For full-year 2026, excluding the impact of CoolIT, Ecolab continues to expect adjusted diluted EPS in the $8.43-$8.63 range, rising 12%-15% compared with adjusted diluted EPS of $7.53 in 2025.
Ecolab will release its first-quarter results April 28.
by Jameson Croteau
Source: chemweek.com
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