Ecolab closes acquisition of thermal management company CoolIT, strengthening AI data center cooling and liquid-handling portfolio.
Ecolab completed its acquisition of direct liquid cooling specialist CoolIT Systems for approximately $4.75 billion, closing earlier than expected. The deal significantly strengthens Ecolab's presence in the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market by adding advanced liquid cooling technologies for high-density data centers to its portfolio.
The acquisition marks a major step in Ecolab's strategy to transform its High-Tech business into a key long-term growth driver. By combining CoolIT's direct liquid cooling solutions with its existing water treatment and digital monitoring capabilities, Ecolab is positioning itself to capitalize on surging AI infrastructure investments while expanding its addressable market across semiconductor fabs, power generation and AI data centers.
Management expects the High-Tech business to reach $4 billion in annual sales by 2030, supporting sustained organic revenue growth, margin expansion and double-digit earnings growth over the long term despite near-term acquisition-related costs.
The CoolIT acquisition is expected to significantly strengthen Ecolab's long-term growth prospects by establishing the company as a comprehensive solutions provider across the AI infrastructure value chain. The addition of direct liquid cooling technology complements Ecolab's existing expertise in ultra-pure water, power and digital optimization solutions, enabling it to offer integrated offerings for semiconductor manufacturing and AI data centers.
Following the acquisition, Ecolab plans to introduce an end-to-end 3D TRASAR cooling platform at the Supercomputing conference in November 2026. The platform will combine CoolIT's cooling distribution units and high-performance cold plates with Ecolab's digital 3D TRASAR optimization technology and advanced cooling fluids. Designed for next-generation AI systems, including NVIDIA's Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell architectures, the solution will provide real-time monitoring of cooling system performance, helping customers reduce cooling power consumption, improve energy efficiency and move toward a near-zero water footprint through closed-loop cooling technologies.
The acquisition significantly scales Ecolab's Global High-Tech business. Annualized sales from the segment have increased from approximately $150 million in 2021 to nearly $1.5 billion in 2026 following the acquisitions of Ovivo and CoolIT. Management now expects the business to generate $4 billion in annual sales by 2030 while delivering operating margins of about 25%, making it the company's largest growth engine. Backed by annual growth exceeding 25%, the segment is projected to contribute more than two percentage points to Ecolab's annual sales growth.
While the CoolIT acquisition is expected to create short-term earnings headwinds from non-cash amortization and financing costs, the company continues to project organic sales growth of 5–7%, annual operating margin expansion of 100–150 basis points and adjusted earnings per share growth of 12–15% over the long term as acquisition synergies strengthen and the amortization impact from the Nalco acquisition begins to roll off after 2027.
According to Grand View Research, the global data center liquid cooling market size was estimated at $6.65 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $29.46 billion by 2033, expanding at a CAGR of 20.1% from 2026 to 2033. The rapid escalation of computing density, driven by AI, machine learning and high-performance computing workloads, is fueling this growth.
In April, Ecolab introduced Water Navigator IQ, an AI-enabled platform that provides businesses with a comprehensive, enterprise-wide view of water performance and converts insights into actionable outcomes. Water Navigator IQ unifies site-level data and predictive analytics in a single platform to help organizations track water usage, compare performance and align water strategies with business goals.