{"id":130267,"date":"2026-03-21T08:27:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T11:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/900856911"},"modified":"2026-03-21T08:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T11:27:24","slug":"coolit-sold-to-ecolab-for-4-75-billion-in-one-of-biggest-ever-canadian-tech-takeovers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/coolit-sold-to-ecolab-for-4-75-billion-in-one-of-biggest-ever-canadian-tech-takeovers\/","title":{"rendered":"CoolIT sold to Ecolab for $4.75-billion in one of biggest-ever Canadian tech takeovers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img data-opt-id=758893364  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" 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https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/GTV2MCETNFLWRLOHTJLVFA6NJ4.JPG?auth=9a0736fc97209dedbe52cf0ca14e1f930046401f0d27b38a91cbeef866e5504c&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&smart=true&ssl=1&w=1024&resize=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/GTV2MCETNFLWRLOHTJLVFA6NJ4.JPG?auth=9a0736fc97209dedbe52cf0ca14e1f930046401f0d27b38a91cbeef866e5504c&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&smart=true&ssl=1&w=1280&resize=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/GTV2MCETNFLWRLOHTJLVFA6NJ4.JPG?auth=9a0736fc97209dedbe52cf0ca14e1f930046401f0d27b38a91cbeef866e5504c&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&smart=true&ssl=1&w=1600&resize=1600&ssl=1 1600w\" fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/GTV2MCETNFLWRLOHTJLVFA6NJ4.JPG?auth=9a0736fc97209dedbe52cf0ca14e1f930046401f0d27b38a91cbeef866e5504c&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&smart=true&ssl=1\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"default__Toolbar-sc-12lzz6r-0 grffJf article-toolbar\">\n<div class=\"tgam-popover-container tgam-toggletip-container Toolbarstyles__ToggletipWithButtonStyled-sc-1rif7tm-1 cWQoaH c-button--article-toolbar article-toolbar-bookmark-menu\"><button aria-controls=\"article-toolbar-bookmark-toggletip\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-haspopup=\"true\" aria-label=\"Bookmark this article\" class=\"Button__StyledButton-sc-136o1ng-1 kvWUaG tgam-button tgam-button--icon-grey text-gml-2 Toolbarstyles__BookmarkButtonStyled-sc-1rif7tm-2 ieeOlK\" data-sophi-action=\"toggle bookmark menu\" data-sophi-feature=\"article toolbar bookmark denied\" data-sophi-label=\"Save for later\" id=\"article-toolbar-bookmark-btn\" type=\"button\"><span class=\"tgam-button__content\">Save for later<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">CoolIT Systems Inc., a fast-growing Calgary-based cooling technology supplier to the data centre industry, has been sold to a U.S. public company in one of the largest exits ever in Canada\u2019s technology sector. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">Ecolab Inc. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/investing\/markets\/stocks\/ECL-N\/\" target=\"_self\" rel title=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/investing\/markets\/stocks\/ECL-N\/\">ECL-N<\/a> of St. Paul, Minn., said Friday it had purchased CoolIT from private equity giant KKR &amp; Co. Inc. and Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. for US$4.75-billion in cash, amounting to 29 times the company\u2019s forecast adjusted operating earnings for the next 12 months. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">The deal is one of the biggest takeouts of a Canadian technology company in at least the past 20 years. IBM bought Ottawa-based Cognos for US$4.9-billion in 2007, while UnitedHealth Group Inc. bought Canadian-domiciled Catamaran Corp. 11 years ago for US$12.8-billion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">The CoolIT deal is a massive win for KKR, which bought the company in 2023 for US$270-million, just as spending on massive global data centres supporting the widespread adoption and use of artificial intelligence was about to take off. The same boom has also contributed to a huge increase in revenues, profits and stock-market value for Toronto-based Celestica Inc. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/investing\/markets\/stocks\/CLS-T\/\" target=\"_self\" rel title=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/investing\/markets\/stocks\/CLS-T\/\">CLS-T<\/a>, a key technology vendor to hyperscalers \u2013 tech giants such as Google and Facebook \u2013 who are leading the data-centre build-out. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, will also result in a big payday for CoolIT\u2019s 401 full-time employees, who participate in an employee ownership program called OwnIT. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cAI is transforming the demands on data centres, and liquid cooling is one of the critical technologies that makes advanced computing possible,\u201d said Ecolab chairman and chief executive officer Christophe Beck in a release. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cBy bringing together CoolIT\u2019s engineered cooling technologies with Ecolab\u2019s expertise in water, chemistry and digital service, we can provide our customers a complete cooling solution that improves performance and reliability while reducing water and energy use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">He added that the acquisition \u201cpositions Ecolab as the partner that the world\u2019s largest technology companies rely on to grow responsibly and sustainably\u201d as the global AI ecosystem gets built out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">A KKR spokesperson declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">Ecolab, a New York Stock Exchange-listed provider of water, hygiene and infection-prevention products and services with US$16-billion in annual sales, said the addition of CoolIT would \u201csignificantly strengthen\u201d growth in its global high-tech business and increase its overall organic sales growth rate by 1 per cent. It is also expected to increase Ecolab\u2019s expected adjusted earnings in 2028 \u201cwith the contribution building significantly thereafter,\u201d the buyer said in a release.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">CoolIT was founded 25 years ago. It originally made liquid cooling technology for gaming computers before expanding in 2012 to serve the supercomputer business, and the burgeoning artificial intelligence business a decade later. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">It produces radiator-like systems consisting of coldplates and closed-loop liquid circuits used to cool graphics processing unit and central processing unit chips as well as artificial intelligence accelerators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">CoolIT has seen demand for its products soar since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 became one of the most disruptive technology events since the launch of the iPhone or start of the dot-com boom. Its annual revenue is expected to reach US$550-million over the next 12 months, Ecolab said. CoolIT\u2019s explosive growth has established it as one of Canada\u2019s largest privately held technology companies in recent years, and one of at least 25 to surpass US$300-million in annual revenues, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/business\/article-canada-tech-companies-100-million-club\/\" target=\"_self\" rel title=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/business\/article-canada-tech-companies-100-million-club\/\">according to a recent Globe and Mail survey<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">The Calgary company\u2019s technology is used in seven of the top 10 supercomputers and the company\u2019s customers include four of the top five server manufacturers and four of the five hyperscaler tech giants leading the data-centre construction wave. The company has more than 650 employees and 120 patents and manufactures in Canada, China and Vietnam. It has a second headquarters and engineering lab in Taiwan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">Construction of data centres is booming, mostly in the United States, to support the development and adoption of AI. Efficient cooling systems are crucial to these facilities. The sophisticated computer chips that are used to build and run AI models are getting more powerful and consuming more electricity, and can generate intense amounts of heat.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\"> <\/a><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/acceptable.html\"> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8230; ., a fast-growing Calgary-based cooling <span class=\"match\">technology<\/span> supplier to the data centre industry &#8230; Inc. CLS-T, a key <span class=\"match\">technology<\/span> vendor to hyperscalers \u00e2\u0080\u0093 <span class=\"match\">tech<\/span> giants such as &#8230; . It originally made liquid cooling <span class=\"match\">technology<\/span> for gaming computers before expanding &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}