Ecolab’s CoolIT takeover puts AI data-center cooling in focus

A water company buys into the AI heat problem

Ecolab said it closed its roughly $4.75 billion purchase of CoolIT Systems on July 2, earlier than the company had expected, adding direct liquid cooling hardware for high-density data centers.ecolab +1 CoolIT’s year-to-date sales have grown by more than 100%, a surge Ecolab tied to demand from AI facilities that need more efficient ways to move heat away from chips.ecolab Zacks, in a report carried by TradingView, framed the deal as a step toward combining CoolIT’s cooling gear with Ecolab’s water treatment and digital monitoring business.tradingview

The pitch is a full cooling stack

The near-term product plan centers on an end-to-end 3D TRASAR cooling platform that Ecolab plans to introduce at the Supercomputing conference in Chicago in November 2026.ecolab +1 The system is set to combine CoolIT cooling distribution units and cold plates with Ecolab’s optimization software, cooling fluids and closed-loop designs aimed at reducing cooling power demand and water use.ecolab +1

NVIDIA engineers Ali Heydari and Saket Karajgikar said the chipmaker has worked with Ecolab and CoolIT on coolant qualification, coolant health monitoring, cooling infrastructure and next-generation AI factory technologies.ecolab +1 When Ecolab announced the agreement in March, it said CoolIT was expected to generate about $550 million in sales over the next 12 months and that the transaction valued the company at 29 times estimated next-12-month adjusted EBITDA.businesswire

Growth targets now carry an earnings drag

Ecolab’s Global High-Tech business has expanded from about $150 million in annual sales in 2021 to nearly $1.5 billion in 2026 annualized sales after the additions of Ovivo and CoolIT.ecolab +1 The company now targets $4 billion in annual sales for the unit by 2030, with operating income margins of 25% and growth above 25% a year.ecolab

The price of that expansion is a short-term hit to earnings. Ecolab cut its 2026 adjusted diluted EPS outlook to $8.03 to $8.23 after incorporating CoolIT-related amortization and financing costs, while projecting a $0.20-per-share drag in each of the third and fourth quarters.ecolab +1 Investing.com noted the deal comes as Ecolab trades at a rich earnings multiple, while Ecolab said adjusted EPS growth should return to a 12% to 15% range beyond 2026 as CoolIT contributes more and older amortization rolls off.investing +1