BY Fraser Tennant
In one of the largest-ever Canadian tech takeovers, water treatment solutions company Ecolab is to acquire data centre cooling specialist CoolIT Systems for $4.75bn in cash.
The acquisition accelerates Ecolab’s sales growth by significantly expanding its global high-tech growth engine from $5bn to $10bn, creating an end to end fluid management and cooling platform for artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.
The deal has been agreed amid a broader trend of industry consolidation driven by high demand for data centre infrastructure, with companies seeking to expand their capabilities to address growing requirements for power and specialised cooling solutions.
“AI is transforming the demands on data centres,” said Christophe Beck, chairman and chief executive of Ecolab. “And one of the critical technologies that makes advanced computing possible is liquid cooling.”
By combining CoolIT’s anchor thermal engineering technologies and design excellence with Ecolab’s expertise in water, chemistry, fluid management, digital monitoring and global service, Ecolab is bolstering its cooling as a service offering – a solution that helps AI data centres improve performance, reduce downtime and lower water use across their operations.
“This acquisition expands our role in serving the AI ecosystem – semiconductor fabrication plants that manufacture chips, power plants that fuel the chips and data centres that utilise the chips – and positions Ecolab as the partner that the world’s largest technology companies rely on to grow responsibly and sustainably,” added Mr Beck.
With 48,000 associates and customers across more than 170 countries and 40 industries, Ecolab helps protect one‑third of the world’s food production and a quarter of the power generated while delivering innovative solutions across food, healthcare, data centres, microelectronics, life sciences and hospitality.
Owned by funds managed by global investment firm KKR, Calgary-based CoolIT designs and manufactures liquid cooling systems used by hyperscale and colocation operators. Its customers include chipmakers such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. With more than 25 years of experience, CoolIT’s technology helps the world’s largest hyperscale and colocation operators run more efficiently and reliably.
The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Mr Beck concluded: “Bringing together CoolIT’s engineered cooling technologies with Ecolab’s expertise in water, chemistry and digital service provides our customers with a complete cooling solution that improves performance and reliability, while reducing water and energy use.”
News: Ecolab to buy CoolIT for $4.75 billion to tap into AI data center boom