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Home/Deal Room/Ecolab buys CoolIT for $4.75B AI data-center cooling platform

Cooling · Evidence brief

Ecolab buys CoolIT for $4.75B AI data-center cooling platform

Ecolab + CoolIT Systems + KKR

Primary sourcePress release only2026-03-19
Deal structureAcquisition / direct liquid cooling and fluid-management platform for AI data centers
GeographyGlobal data-center cooling supply chain, with CoolIT operations in Canada, China, Vietnam and on-site support in more than 80 countries
Infrastructure layersCooling + data centers + power efficiency + chips / compute
Disclosed scale$4.75B cash acquisition of CoolIT Systems, a pure-play advanced liquid-cooling supplier for high-density AI data centers; CoolIT expected approximately $550M of sales over the next 12 months and expands Ecolab's Global High-Tech market opportunity from $5B to $10B

Why it matters

The strategic read

Makes liquid cooling a multibillion-dollar strategic asset rather than a niche thermal component. Ecolab is buying CoolIT from KKR to combine cold plates, CDUs, liquid loops, rack manifolds, water chemistry, service and digital monitoring into one AI data-center cooling platform for hyperscale and colocation customers. The deal highlights the next physical bottleneck after power: high-density racks cannot scale without reliable liquid-cooling manufacturing, fluid management and field service.

Source-supported terms

What was disclosed

  1. 01

    Ecolab announced a definitive agreement to acquire CoolIT Systems from funds managed by KKR.

  2. 02

    Ecolab will pay approximately $4.75B in cash at closing, subject to customary adjustments.

  3. 03

    CoolIT is described as a global leader in advanced liquid cooling technologies with 100% focus on the data-center market.

  4. 04

    CoolIT is expected to generate approximately $550M in sales over the next 12 months.

  5. 05

    The transaction is intended to create an end-to-end fluid-management and cooling platform for next-generation AI data centers.

  6. 06

    CoolIT designs and manufactures coolant distribution units, cold plates, direct-to-chip cooling technologies, liquid loops and rack manifolds.

  7. 07

    Ecolab says CoolIT has deep relationships with major hyperscaler and colocation customers and strong revenue-growth visibility from large-scale data-center deployments.

  8. 08

    CoolIT contributes custom-designed solutions for leading AI chip developers including NVIDIA and AMD.

  9. 09

    Ecolab said the acquisition doubles its Global High-Tech market opportunity from $5B to $10B.

  10. 10

    The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.

  11. 11

    Ecolab expects to finance the acquisition with new transaction debt, with pro forma net debt to adjusted EBITDA anticipated at approximately 3x at close.

Disclosure boundary

What is known—and what is not

Primary Ecolab / Business Wire acquisition announcement. Public materials disclose the buyer, seller, target, $4.75B cash consideration, expected CoolIT sales, data-center liquid-cooling scope, hyperscaler and colocation customer context, NVIDIA/AMD AI-chip design links, market-opportunity expansion, debt-financing intent and expected closing window. Public materials do not disclose the full purchase agreement, customer identities, backlog by customer, product-volume commitments, manufacturing-capacity expansion plan, supplier contracts, closing conditions beyond the public summary, debt terms, integration plan, pricing by product line, or whether any hyperscaler cooling-capacity reservations transfer with the business.