Mar. 20 at 12:09 PM
$ECL Ecolab to acquire CoolIT Systems for
$4.75B in cash, sees accretion
Ecolab announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CoolIT Systems. CoolIT is expected to generate approximately
$550M in sales over the next 12 months. Under the terms of the agreement, Ecolab will pay approximately
$4.75B in cash at the closing of the transaction, subject to customary adjustments. This represents 29x and 24x estimated next 12-month and 2027 adjusted EBITDA for CoolIT. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Ecolab's sales growth, accelerating Global Water's organic sales growth rate by 2% and Ecolab's organic sales growth rate by 1%, beginning one year after closing.
Excluding non-cash amortization costs, the transaction is expected to be accretive to adjusted diluted earnings per share in 2028, with the contribution building significantly thereafter. Returns are expected to be significantly above Ecolab's weighted average cost of capital. The acquisition will be financed with new transaction debt. As a result, pro forma net debt to adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be approximately 3x at transaction close, returning to 2x leverage by the end of the second year after closing. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
