Ecolab agrees to buy CoolIT Systems for $4.75 billion in cash
Ecolab agreed to acquire CoolIT Systems, a maker of liquid cooling systems for AI data centers, for about $4.75 billion in cash, funded with new transaction debt and expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. The company said the deal is expected to add 1% to Ecolab's total organic sales growth rate and to be accretive to adjusted diluted EPS in 2028, while leverage rises to about 3x at closing. Ecolab also set first-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.69 to $1.71 and kept its full-year 2026 outlook, excluding CoolIT, at $8.43 to $8.63.
Key points
- Purchase price of approximately $4.75 billion in cash at closing, subject to customary adjustments; 29x and 24x estimated next 12-month and 2027 adjusted EBITDA
- Expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals; financed with new transaction debt, with pro forma net debt to adjusted EBITDA of about 3x at close, returning to 2x by the end of the second year
- Q1 2026 adjusted diluted EPS expected at $1.69 to $1.71, up 13% to 14% from $1.50 a year earlier
- Full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS outlook of $8.43 to $8.63, excluding CoolIT, up 12% to 15% from $7.53 in 2025
The filing
Written by AI (Anthropic Claude, claude-haiku-5-5) on Nov 8, 2026, 1:21 AM ET, from the text of the filing and its press-release exhibits only. Written later: this filing was briefed after the fact, when past filings were added to the site, so the brief may be read with hindsight; the filing itself is the record of what was known on March 20, 2026.
Briefs are written by AI from the filing text (each brief's own page names the model) and can contain mistakes — open the filing before acting on anything. Impact (1-5) and tone are the model's reading of the filing for shareholders, not a price forecast. Not investment advice.