On 20 March 2026, Ecolab announced its plan to acquire CoolIT Systems, a pure-play specializing in liquid cooling technology for next-gen artificial intelligence data centers. With CoolIT’s projected revenues of US$550 million, the move expands Ecolab’s reach in the data center industry by scaling its design and manufacturing capabilities for coolant distribution units and cold plates.
The US$4.75 billion sale by KKR represents a 29x earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization multiple, a high valuation set to capitalize on the rapid growth in AI infrastructure build-out. KKR, which spent an estimated US$270 million on the Alberta, Canada-based liquid cooling company in 2023, is now positioned to achieve significant returns on its investment as it shifts its focus toward asset-based investments like CyrusOne and Compass Datacenters.
