KKR has agreed to sell CoolIT Systems, a Calgary-based data center liquid cooling company, to Ecolab for $4.75 billion. The deal marks one of the largest acquisitions in the data center cooling sector as AI-driven computing demands surge. CoolIT specializes in engineered cooling technologies that reduce water and energy use in high-performance computing environments.

CoolIT operates R&D centers in Calgary and Taipei, with manufacturing facilities in Canada, China, and Vietnam. The company provides on-site support across more than 80 countries and was founded in 2001. Ecolab plans to combine CoolIT's cooling expertise with its own water, chemistry, and digital service capabilities to create comprehensive solutions for the AI ecosystem.

The acquisition will be financed through new transaction debt, with pro forma net debt to adjusted EBITDA expected to reach approximately 3x at closing. Ecolab anticipates returning to 2x leverage by the end of the second year post-closing. The deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2026.