Ecolab to acquire CoolIT Systems for $4.75 billion USD

By March 20, 2026
The CoolIT team at Nvidia's GTC conference.
Acquisition of Calgary cooling systems manufacturer will be finalized in third quarter of 2026.

Ecolab announced today it is acquiring Calgary’s CoolIT Systems, a leader in liquid cooling technology for data centres. 

“This acquisition expands our role in serving the AI ecosystem.”

Based in Minnesota, Ecolab, which has traditionally provided products relating to commercial and industrial water treatment and sanitation, will pay approximately $4.75 billion USD ($6.52 billion CAD) for the acquisition. The company was put on the market earlier this month, after global investment firm KKR bought it in 2023. 

Founded in 2001 in Calgary, CoolIT designs and manufactures high-performance cooling systems, including coolant distribution units and direct-to-chip technologies that use liquid—rather than air—to cool CPUs and GPUs by circulating coolant directly across chips via cold plates. 

Initially, the company made cooling technology for use in high-end gaming computers, before expanding its business into supercomputers, and eventually into AI. With a surge in demand related to a global buildout of data centres and adoption of AI, the company has seen its income jump, with revenues climbing from $60 million to $155 million in 2024. 

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In a press release, Ecolab said the acquisition is expected to “significantly strengthen the company’s Globe High-Tech growth engine,”  a business division focused on advanced water management, including in the AI industry. The company said it expects CoolIT to generate roughly $550 million USD in sales over the next 12 months, positioning Ecolab as a “comprehensive cool solutions provider” in relation to the rapidly growing data centre market. 

“This acquisition expands our role in serving the AI ecosystem—semiconductor fabs that manufacture chips, power plants that fuel the chips, and data centres that utilize the chips—and positions Ecolab as the partner that the world’s largest technology companies rely on,” Ecolab chairman and CEO Christophe Beck.  

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, with financing coming from new transaction debt, according to Ecolab’s press release. 

BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.

Feature image courtesy CoolIT Systems on LinkedIn.

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