Abu Dhabi-based investment company Mubadala has divested its stake in CoolIT systems, part of a larger sale by majority owner KKR to Eco-lab for a total value of $4.75 billion.
CoolIT systems is a firm that specializes in data center liquid cooling solutions, making its services lucrative in the current boom for data centers. The sale passes the company over to EcoLab’s management, a market leader in water treatment and sanitation. Ecolab was founded in 1923.
The update comes amid a surge in demand for infrastructure, which includes chip manufacturing facilities, data centers, and data center cooling systems.
Compared to traditional cooling which consumes a lot of energy, CoolIT’s liquid cooling solutions help to save on energy costs for data centers, something all hyperscalers and AI firms are looking to as the infrastructure’s energy requirements are huge.
CoolIT employees to receive cash compensation as part of deal
As a result of the transaction, CoolIT’s employees will aalso receive cash buyouts due to an ownership program which gave every worker equity in the company. Compensation ranges from one year of annual pay to eight years of annual pay.
The sale yielded huge profits for KKR, who bought the company at a price reasonable enough to yield 15x its value of initial investment.
“As a leader in liquid cooling, CoolIT delivers compelling solutions that strengthen this critical infrastructure while reducing resource consumption,” said KKR managing director Kyle Matter.
Mubadala still holds an investment portfolio strong in AI and data centers. The company co-launched the MGX investment fund in partnership with G42 in an effort to target high-growth AI firms. They also have partnerships with BlackRock and Microsoft as part of a multi-billion dollar effort to build data center infrastructure in the U.S.
“I am grateful for KKR’s commitment and investment in our unprecedented growth.” said CoolIT’s CEO Jason Waxman.