Schneider Electric buys US liquid cooling firm
17th October 2024FRANCE: Schneider Electric is set to acquire an initial 75% controlling interest in US data centre liquid cooling solutions company Motivair for $850m.
According to Schneider Electric, the transaction will strengthen its portfolio of direct-to-chip liquid cooling and high-capacity thermal solutions.
Headquartered in Buffalo, New York, Motivair was founded in 1988 and currently has over 150 employees. The company’s product portfolio includes coolant distribution units, rear door heat exchangers, cold plates and heat dissipation units, alongside chillers for thermal management.
Motivair has years of experience in cooling the world’s fastest supercomputers with liquid cooling solutions. In recent quarters, the company has been achieving double-digit growth.
“The acquisition of Motivair represents an important step, furthering our world leading position across the data centre value chain,” said Schneider Electric CEO Peter Herweck.
“The unique liquid cooling portfolio of Motivair complements our value proposition in data centre cooling and further strengthens our prominent position in data centre build out from grid to chip and from chip to chiller.”
Motivair president and CEO Rich Whitmore will continue to run the Motivair business after the closing of the transaction.
On completion, Motivair will join Schneider Electric’s Energy Management business. The Group expects to acquire the remaining 25% in 2028.