Private equity is backing the increased interest in air conditioning across Europe. Exponent closed an approximately €750 million single-asset continuation vehicle to extend its investment in H&MV Engineering, a global HVAC company headquartered in Limerick, Ireland. The transaction values H&MV at €1.4 billion, a near twelvefold increase since Exponent's 2022 investment.

Nvidia plans to establish independent compute financing platforms with Apollo, Black Rock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR to build out AI infrastructure, mobilizing over $500 billion of third-party capital. The HVAC sector has long attracted private equity interest in the US, and that playbook is being rolled out in a warming Europe. Low penetration of air conditioning in much of the region has become a political debate, with NESO projecting household adoption to grow to 10–40 percent by 2050.

Astorg-backed IPCOM announced a plan to acquire a majority stake in Le Froid Pecomark, a French distributor of refrigeration and ventilation equipment. Open Gate Capital acquired Merak, the global rail HVAC business of Knorr-Bremse, while Onex Partners closed a $1.6 billion multi-asset continuation vehicle including Fidelity Building Services Group. Baird Capital made a strategic investment in Rapid Energy, a specialist temperature-control hire service.

With Europe set for its fifth heatwave of the summer, the HVAC sector remains a critical area for private equity investment.