Ecolab Closes CoolIT Acquisition and Expands AI Cooling Platform as Global High Tech Business Targets $4 Billion by 2030

2026년 7월 02일
Stylized image of a data center rack

Ecolab today announced the close of its acquisition of CoolIT Systems, a leader in direct liquid cooling for high-density data centers. The transaction closed earlier than expected, and Ecolab welcomes the world-class CoolIT team to the company.

Ecolab acquired CoolIT for approximately $4.75 billion. CoolIT's year-to-date sales have grown more than 100%, driven by accelerating demand for liquid cooling in AI data centers.

With CoolIT, Ecolab extends its established global leadership in water technologies, research and service to the fastest-growing market in the world: AI infrastructure and computing. At the heart of AI is water. We need water to produce chips, power chips, and cool chips. Ecolab is now uniquely positioned to offer end-to-end solutions across the full AI value chain, from ultra-pure water to produce the most advanced chips, to high-performing water systems for optimized power generation, to direct liquid cooling for the most powerful AI data centers. This enables Ecolab to help customers scale AI faster with global solutions that protect people, natural resources, and communities.

At Supercomputing in November 2026 in Chicago, Ecolab plans to introduce a breakthrough innovation: a new end-to-end 3D TRASAR™ cooling platform combining CoolIT technologies, including cooling distribution units and high-performing cold plates, with integrated 3D TRASAR™ digital optimization and advanced cooling fluids. Supported by global expertise, it will optimize water, power, and compute performance at scale. This will provide operators with real-time visibility into system performance to help reduce cooling power demand and increase power efficiency, while leveraging closed-loop solutions to move data centers toward a near-zero water footprint. This technology is applicable for AI architectures like NVIDIA Vera Rubin, Grace Blackwell, and more to help enhance uptime while accelerating the shift to an AI infrastructure with less impact on the environment and natural resources.

"NVIDIA has collaborated with Ecolab and CoolIT across a broad range of liquid-cooling initiatives, including coolant qualification, coolant health monitoring, cooling infrastructure development, and next-generation AI factory technologies," said 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."

Ecolab and CoolIT will continue to work with leading hyperscale customers and bring together stakeholders across the power and water ecosystem to support the design of next-generation AI data centers that accelerate AI deployment while maximizing performance and minimizing impact.

Ecolab's Global High-Tech business, which generated approximately $150 million in annual sales in 2021, is now approaching $1.5 billion in 2026 annualized sales following the additions of Ovivo and CoolIT. Ecolab is targeting its Global High-Tech business to be $4 billion in annual sales by 2030, with operating income margins of 25%. The business is now Ecolab's largest growth engine, and as it grows by more than 25% annually, it is expected to contribute more than 2 percentage points to annual sales growth with expanding margins.

"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. "With strong and consistent core businesses and new growth engines in high tech and life sciences that capture major new trends, we have never been better positioned to deliver on our growth commitments."

“We therefore remain confident in our ability to drive sustained organic revenue growth of 5% to 7%, operating income margins well beyond 20%, and consistent EPS growth of 12% to 15% for the years to come,” Beck added.

Ecolab Updates 2026 EPS Guidance to Include CoolIT Systems

Reflecting the close of the CoolIT acquisition and a short-term impact of non-cash amortization and financing costs, Ecolab expects 2026 adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $8.03 to $8.23, representing growth of 7% to 9% versus 2025.

For the second half of 2026, Ecolab expects organic sales growth to accelerate to the 6% to 7% range. This momentum, along with an expanding organic gross margin and continued strong productivity, is expected to result in underlying EPS growth of 14% to 15% for Ecolab's base business in the second half of 2026. Short-term impacts from the CoolIT acquisition, primarily related to non-cash amortization and financing costs, are expected to result in a $0.20 per share impact in each of the third and fourth quarters of 2026. Together, this is expected to result in adjusted diluted EPS growth of 4% to 5% in the second half of the year, consistent with prior disclosures.

Beyond 2026, Ecolab expects organic sales to grow 5% to 7% and annual adjusted operating income margin expansion of 100 to 150 basis points as the company moves well beyond its 20% operating income margin target. With this, adjusted EPS growth, including CoolIT, is expected to accelerate back into the 12% to 15% range as contributions from this high-growth, high-margin acquisition increase and amortization from the Nalco acquisition rolls off in 2027.

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비GAAP 재무 정보

This news release includes financial measures that have not been calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. ("GAAP"), including organic sales, organic gross margin and adjusted diluted earnings per share. 이러한 조치는 운영 결과에 대한 추가 정보로 제공합니다. 이콜랩은 이러한 비GAAP 측정을 내부적으로 사용하여 성과를 평가하고 인센티브 보상과 관련된 재무 및 운영상의 결정을 내립니다. 이콜랩은 이러한 조치를 발표함으로써 투자자에게 운영 결과에 대한 더 큰 투명성을 제공하고 이러한 조치가 기간별 결과 비교에 유용하다고 믿습니다.

Our non-GAAP financial measures for organic sales and organic gross profit are at fixed currency and exclude the results of our acquired businesses from the first 12 months post acquisition and the results of divested businesses from the 12 months prior to divestiture. Organic gross margin is the ratio of organic gross profit to organic sales. Our non-GAAP financial measures for adjusted diluted earnings per share exclude the impact of special (gains) and charges and discrete tax items. 이콜랩은 운영 결과에 대한 기간별 평가에 상당한 영향을 미칠 수 있다고 생각되는 특별(이익) 및 비용과 개별 세금 항목을 포함시켰으며, 이는 반드시 과거 추세 및 미래 결과와 관련된 비용 및/또는 수입을 반영하는 것은 아닙니다.

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(ECL-A)

투자자 문의처:
Andrew C. Hedberg
651-250-2185

이콜랩 미디어 관련
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출처: Ecolab Inc.

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