What happens when you’re lucky AND good?
A 15x case study.
KKR bought a data center cooling company three years ago, just sold it for $4.75B, and generated a 15x return on the investment.
Three years. One infrastructure niche most people weren't watching.
Here's how it came together...
----- Background -----
KKR acquired CoolIT Systems in 2023 through its Global Impact Fund, a vehicle focused on commercial solutions to environmental challenges. CoolIT makes liquid cooling systems for data centers.
----- Why cooling? -----
Traditional air-cooled data centers dedicate up to 50% of total facility energy to cooling. Liquid cooling cuts that figure by 30-40%. In a world where data centers are projected to consume 8% of global energy by 2030, the math isn't subtle.
AI compute demand is accelerating rack densities. Denser racks generate more heat. More heat requires better cooling. CoolIT's technology is now deployed across 300+ data centers globally.
----- The returns -----
Since KKR bought the firm in 2023:
-- Workforce doubled to 650 employees
-- Manufacturing footprint expanded to 300,000+ square feet
-- CDU capacity increased 25x
-- Projected revenue growth of ~4x through 2026
The 15x realized return will rank among KKR's largest recent exits. Mubadala co-invested alongside them.
The buyer, Ecolab, is a $60B+ water and hygiene company building out data center services. They're acquiring CoolIT for the technology, the customer relationships, and the installed base. A logical fit for a firm that already sells into industrial infrastructure.
----- The employee angle -----
KKR made all 650 CoolIT employees equity owners at acquisition. At close, payouts range from roughly one year of annual compensation to over eight years.
That's a lot more than PR. A meaningful wealth event for 650 people in Calgary. The CoolIT outcome is their first program payout in Canada and their first for a North American Global Impact investment.
----- What this signals -----
Data center infrastructure isn't one trade. It's dozens of sub-sectors: power, land, fiber, cooling, water systems, prefab construction.
Most of the capital flowing into AI infrastructure has chased the obvious plays: hyperscaler facilities, power generation, tower REITs.
KKR didn’t just get lucky. They married capital with top-down conviction and a bottom-up opportunity. They didn’t buy an index or make a broad direction bet. They backed an operator with edge and experience in a market with generational tailwinds.
Kudos to CoolIT Systems for building an ‘overnight success’ over 25 years and to KKR for knowing when to triple down on the opportunity!
PS -- Want to be able to follow the dollars between deals, funds, firms and profits? DM us to explore joining our upcoming FastTrack cohort, which kicks off with a deep dive on real estate capital markets.
A 15x case study.
KKR bought a data center cooling company three years ago, just sold it for $4.75B, and generated a 15x return on the investment.
Three years. One infrastructure niche most people weren't watching.
Here's how it came together...
----- Background -----
KKR acquired CoolIT Systems in 2023 through its Global Impact Fund, a vehicle focused on commercial solutions to environmental challenges. CoolIT makes liquid cooling systems for data centers.
----- Why cooling? -----
Traditional air-cooled data centers dedicate up to 50% of total facility energy to cooling. Liquid cooling cuts that figure by 30-40%. In a world where data centers are projected to consume 8% of global energy by 2030, the math isn't subtle.
AI compute demand is accelerating rack densities. Denser racks generate more heat. More heat requires better cooling. CoolIT's technology is now deployed across 300+ data centers globally.
----- The returns -----
Since KKR bought the firm in 2023:
-- Workforce doubled to 650 employees
-- Manufacturing footprint expanded to 300,000+ square feet
-- CDU capacity increased 25x
-- Projected revenue growth of ~4x through 2026
The 15x realized return will rank among KKR's largest recent exits. Mubadala co-invested alongside them.
The buyer, Ecolab, is a $60B+ water and hygiene company building out data center services. They're acquiring CoolIT for the technology, the customer relationships, and the installed base. A logical fit for a firm that already sells into industrial infrastructure.
----- The employee angle -----
KKR made all 650 CoolIT employees equity owners at acquisition. At close, payouts range from roughly one year of annual compensation to over eight years.
That's a lot more than PR. A meaningful wealth event for 650 people in Calgary. The CoolIT outcome is their first program payout in Canada and their first for a North American Global Impact investment.
----- What this signals -----
Data center infrastructure isn't one trade. It's dozens of sub-sectors: power, land, fiber, cooling, water systems, prefab construction.
Most of the capital flowing into AI infrastructure has chased the obvious plays: hyperscaler facilities, power generation, tower REITs.
KKR didn’t just get lucky. They married capital with top-down conviction and a bottom-up opportunity. They didn’t buy an index or make a broad direction bet. They backed an operator with edge and experience in a market with generational tailwinds.
Kudos to CoolIT Systems for building an ‘overnight success’ over 25 years and to KKR for knowing when to triple down on the opportunity!
PS -- Want to be able to follow the dollars between deals, funds, firms and profits? DM us to explore joining our upcoming FastTrack cohort, which kicks off with a deep dive on real estate capital markets.
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