Ecolab acquires CoolIT Systems for $4.75B

Ecolab has announced a definitive agreement to acquire CoolIT Systems, a leading provider of direct liquid cooling solutions for data centres, from KKR for approximately $4.75 billion in cash. The deal reflects the explosive growth of the liquid cooling market as AI workloads push rack densities beyond the limits of air cooling.

CoolIT Systems is one of the largest providers of direct-to-chip liquid cooling solutions, with installations across major hyperscale and enterprise data centres globally. The acquisition by Ecolab - a $50 billion water and hygiene technology company - signals the convergence of traditional industrial cooling expertise with data centre thermal management, and validates the liquid cooling market's trajectory from niche technology to essential infrastructure.