- The deal adds dry coolers, air-cooled condensers, liquid-cooling systems and microchannel heat-exchange technologies to Vertiv’s end-to-end cooling system.
- CEO Giordano Albertazzi said rising AI workloads are increasing the importance of heat-rejection infrastructure to unlock capacity and improve energy efficiency.
- The deal adds to Vertiv’s broader liquid-cooling expansion strategy, following its $1 billion buy of PurgeRite Intermediate and a separate partnership with Generate Capital.
Shares of Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT) rose 2% in early premarket trading on Tuesday after the company agreed to acquire Italy-based ThermoKey, expanding its thermal infrastructure capabilities for high-density AI data centers.
VRT stock rose marginally on Monday and gained nearly 1% in extended trading.
Vertiv Expands AI Cooling Portfolio
Vertiv said the deal will expand its thermal management portfolio and manufacturing capacity, particularly across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, adding ThermoKey’s dry coolers, air-cooled condensers, liquid-cooling systems and microchannel heat-exchange technologies to strengthen its end-to-end cooling architectures for AI factories and high-density data centers.
CEO Giordano Albertazzi said “heat rejection is becoming increasingly critical for data centers and AI factories as the industry seeks new ways to unlock capacity, improve energy efficiency, and scale with confidence.”
The company possesses microchannel tech compatible with low-GWP and natural refrigerants and in-house production capacity expected to support Vertiv’s broader thermal portfolio expansion and integration across liquid, air and heat-rejection systems, including TrimCooler solutions. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
AI Infrastructure Shift Gains Momentum
The move comes as investors increasingly shift attention from software-led AI development toward the physical infrastructure needed to run large-scale AI workloads.
On Monday, the S&P Dow Jones Indices added Vertiv alongside Lumentum Holdings, Coherent Corp. and EchoStar to the S&P 500 index, underscoring growing investor focus on the power, cooling and connectivity infrastructure supporting the expansion of AI.
Vertiv’s thermal management and power systems are widely used in high-density computing environments where increasingly powerful chips continue to raise cooling requirements and operational complexity.
AI Demand Drives Cooling Expansion
The ThermoKey transaction builds on Vertiv’s broader effort to scale its liquid-cooling and thermal infrastructure capabilities. In November 2025, the company acquired HVAC services provider PurgeRite Intermediate for about $1 billion as part of a push to expand its liquid-cooling services portfolio amid rising pressure on energy systems from AI-driven data-center demand.
Earlier this month, Vertiv also announced a collaboration with Generate Capital to deploy integrated power-and-cooling systems designed to help operators accelerate capacity buildouts in power-constrained markets across the U.S.
A recent trial involving National Grid, Nvidia, Emerald AI and the Electric Power Research Institute showed AI data centers can rapidly reduce electricity consumption during periods of grid stress without disrupting workloads, highlighting how infrastructure flexibility could ease connection bottlenecks and push deployment timelines, according to a Bloomberg report.
How Did Stocktwits Users React?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for VRT has remained in the ‘bearish’ territory over the past week amid ‘low’ message volume.
One user said, “AI infrastructure still has real momentum and if the range tightens more this looks ready.”
Another user said, “power and data center flow still matter and if buyers stay active this trend can continue”
VRT stock has nearly tripled over the past year.
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