Ecolab closes $4.75B CoolIT deal, targets $4B high-tech sales by 2030

Ecolab Inc. closed its $4.75 billion acquisition of CoolIT Systems on July 2, extending the water-treatment giant into direct liquid cooling for AI data centers as its High-Tech business targets $4 billion in annual sales by 2030.

"With Ecolab's breakthrough solutions across fabs, power and data centers, AI can now scale more rapidly while respecting communities, the environment and natural resources," said Christophe Beck, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ecolab.

The transaction closed earlier than expected, with CoolIT's year-to-date sales growing more than 100 percent on accelerating demand for liquid cooling in AI infrastructure. Ecolab's Global High-Tech business, which generated roughly $150 million in annual sales in 2021, is now approaching $1.5 billion in annualized sales following the additions of Ovivo and CoolIT. The company expects the High-Tech unit to grow more than 25 percent annually, contributing more than 2 percentage points to total company sales growth with operating income margins of 25 percent by 2030.

The acquisition positions Ecolab as an end-to-end provider across the AI value chain — from ultra-pure water for chip fabrication to cooling systems for high-density data centers — tapping a market that is the company's fastest-growing segment. At the Supercomputing conference in Chicago in November 2026, Ecolab plans to introduce a new 3D TRASAR cooling platform combining CoolIT's distribution units and cold plates with digital optimization and advanced cooling fluids, targeting near-zero water footprint for data centers running Nvidia's Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell architectures.

Ecolab said the deal will have a short-term impact of $0.20 per share on adjusted earnings in each of the third and fourth quarters of 2026, primarily from non-cash amortization and financing costs. The company updated its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance to a range of $8.03 to $8.23, representing growth of 7 percent to 9 percent versus 2025.

For the second half of 2026, Ecolab expects organic sales growth to accelerate to the 6 percent to 7 percent range, with underlying EPS growth of 14 percent to 15 percent for its base business. Beyond 2026, the company projects organic sales growth of 5 percent to 7 percent and annual adjusted operating income margin expansion of 100 to 150 basis points as it moves beyond its 20 percent operating income margin target. Adjusted EPS growth, including CoolIT, is expected to accelerate back into the 12 percent to 15 percent range as contributions from the high-growth acquisition increase and amortization from the Nalco acquisition rolls off in 2027.

Nvidia has collaborated with Ecolab and CoolIT across liquid-cooling initiatives including coolant qualification, coolant health monitoring and cooling infrastructure development, according to Ali Heydari, technical director and distinguished engineer at Nvidia, and Saket Karajgikar, senior engineering manager and ASME fellow at Nvidia. "Through collaborations spanning Nvidia engineering labs, research programs and large-scale AI infrastructure deployments, Ecolab and CoolIT have consistently demonstrated strong technical expertise, innovation and responsiveness," they said.

Ecolab, which delivers $16 billion in annual sales and employs 48,000 associates across more than 170 countries, said the acquisition strengthens its position as the world's water company serving the full water needs of advanced computing. The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company helps protect one-third of the world's food production and a quarter of the power generated while serving customers across food, hospitality, healthcare, data centers, microelectronics and life sciences.

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