Ecolab said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CoolIT Systems, a liquid-cooling company focused on data centers. Ecolab says the deal expands its data center cooling portfolio and is intended to accelerate growth in its Global High-Tech and Global Water businesses, with a particular focus on next-gen AI data centers.
CoolIT Systems designs and manufactures liquid cooling hardware and technologies including coolant distribution units (CDUs), cold plates, and direct-to-chip cooling. Ecolab said CoolIT is expected to generate approximately $550 million in sales over the next 12 months and described it as a pure-play data center liquid cooling company with end-to-end capabilities. The seller is “funds managed by KKR,” according to Ecolab.
Ecolab said it will pay approximately $4.75 billion in cash at closing (subject to customary adjustments), and it characterized the purchase price as 29x and 24x estimated next 12-month and 2027 adjusted EBITDA for CoolIT. The company said it expects the acquisition to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
On the product side, Ecolab positioned the transaction as a way to broaden its cooling platform for AI data centers by combining CoolIT’s “anchor thermal engineering technologies” with Ecolab’s capabilities in water, chemistry, fluid management, digital monitoring, and global service. Ecolab said the combination will support its “Cooling-as-a-Service” offering and that the integrated solution is intended to help AI data centers improve performance, reduce downtime, and lower water use.
CoolIT’s portfolio cited by Ecolab includes CDUs, cold plates, liquid loops, and rack manifolds. Ecolab also said CoolIT brings “advanced engineering, design and validation capabilities,” including custom-designed solutions for AI chip developers “including NVIDIA and AMD,” plus manufacturing and supply chain capabilities intended to support scaling.
On financial expectations, Ecolab said the acquisition is expected to be accretive to sales growth, with Global Water’s organic sales growth rate accelerated by 2% and Ecolab’s total organic sales growth rate by 1%, beginning one year after closing. Ecolab also said that excluding non-cash amortization costs, the transaction is expected to be accretive to adjusted diluted earnings per share in 2028, with the contribution increasing after that.
The transaction will be financed with new transaction debt, and Ecolab said pro forma net debt to adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be approximately 3x at transaction close, returning to 2x leverage by the end of the second year after closing. Citi is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Ecolab, and Covington & Burling is legal counsel.
“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 chief executive officer. “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.”
Ecolab and CoolIT Systems said additional details and a related investor webcast will be posted on Ecolab’s investor site.
Source: Ecolab
