Global tech firm, SLB, will acquire German heat exchange manufacturer, Kelvion, in a deal worth $US4.1 billion.
The US company will pay $3.4 billion in cash and will assume approximately $0.7 billion of debt.
The acquisition strengthens SLB's data centre solutions business with critical thermal management technologies and expands the company's role in data centre infrastructure, which is one of the world’s fastest-growing industrial and technology markets.
SLB CEO, Olivier Le Peuch, said AI is driving the most significant infrastructure investment cycle in our lifetime.
“This transaction accelerates our ambition to become an industrial technology partner to the data centre industry and help customers address the growing infrastructure complexity required to scale AI,” he said.
“Kelvion advances our path toward more integrated data centre infrastructure solutions, expands our addressable market — more than doubling our revenue opportunity per gigawatt of delivered capacity — and allows us to scale both our offerings and the global reach of the business.”
Founded more than 100 years ago, Kelvion provides thermal management and heat exchange technologies serving data centre, energy and industrial markets.
Its portfolio spans a broad range of cooling and heat-transfer applications, positioning the company at the intersection of two powerful long-term growth trends: AI infrastructure and energy system transformation.
In 2026, Kelvion is expected to generate revenue of approximately $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $350 million to $400 million.
Data centres represent Kelvion’s largest and fastest-growing end market, with revenue expected to reach between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion in 2026.
Beyond data centres, Kelvion has established positions in key energy and industrial markets, including heat pumps, renewables, carbon capture and processing solutions where thermal management plays an increasingly important role in efficiency, reliability and performance.
SLB’s data centre solutions business has grown rapidly over the past few years, with revenue expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 90 per cent between 2024 and 2026 and delivered capacity expected to surpass 2 gigawatts cumulatively by the end of the year.
SLB combines modular manufacturing, offsite construction, engineering, and digital capabilities to deliver data centre infrastructure solutions from design to system integration. This modular approach can reduce onsite construction complexity and accelerate time to operation by up to 40 per cent.
Under the terms of the agreement, SLB will acquire Kelvion from Apollo-managed funds – the majority owner – and Triton which holds a minority interest.
SLB expects to generate approximately $120 million in annual EBITDA synergies within three years from cost efficiencies and incremental revenue opportunities.
Together, SLB and Kelvion are expected to generate more than $2 billion in data centre revenue and approximately $300 million in adjusted EBITDA on a pro-forma basis in 2026.
Building on that foundation, SLB is targeting revenue of $4.5 billion to $5 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $700 million to $800 million for its combined data centre solutions business in 2028.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027.
Apollo partner, Waleed Elgohary, said that from the outset, their focus was on giving Kelvion management the resources and strategic support to pursue the company’s most compelling growth opportunities, chief among them bringing energy efficiency solutions to the AI buildout.
“Management has done an excellent job executing its strategic plans and collectively we believe long-term growth will accelerate as part of SLB, a global leader in energy services that’s applying its expertise to data centre development around the world,” he said.
Kelvion CEO, Andy Blandford, said investors and customers have transformed Kelvion into a fast-growing, highly successful global business with leading positions in both data centres and diversified industrials.
“We are excited to become part of SLB, a global technology leader whose innovation capabilities, international reach and long-term vision make it an ideal home for Kelvion,” Blandford said.
Apollo Funds have deployed more than $155 billion across infrastructure and infrastructure-related investments over the past five years.