Vertiv has agreed to acquire UtilityInnovation Group for approximately $1.45 billion in cash at closing, with the potential for an additional $1.15 billion in cash if the business achieves specified EBITDA targets during 12- and 24-month periods after the transaction.
UtilityInnovation Group, or UIG, provides microgrid solutions, advanced power controls and behind-the-meter power architecture for data centers.
At the initial $1.45 billion purchase price, Vertiv said the acquisition represents approximately 13 times UIG’s expected 2027 EBITDA. Vertiv expects the transaction to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share during the first year following completion.
The acquisition will extend Vertiv’s data center power capabilities upstream to the grid interconnect by adding microgrid controls, onsite generation and energy storage orchestration, microgrid switchgear and behind-the-meter power architecture.
Vertiv is positioning the acquisition around a growing challenge for AI data center development: obtaining sufficient power quickly as utility grids face increasing capacity constraints.
UIG’s systems support grid-connected, bridge-to-grid and islanded data center configurations and are designed to remain independent of any single generation technology or supplier.
The company’s proprietary controls platform and pre-engineered microgrid switchgear can orchestrate multiple power sources in real time and coordinate them with critical data center power infrastructure.
Founded in 2020, UIG is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, with European headquarters in Dublin and manufacturing operations in North Carolina and New Jersey.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
J.P. Morgan Securities is financial advisor to Vertiv, while Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is legal counsel. Morgan Stanley is financial advisor to UIG, with Davis Polk & Wardwell serving as legal counsel.
KEY QUOTES:
“For AI data center operators, competitive advantage increasingly depends on how quickly they can move from site selection to first token. Vertiv has the most complete power and cooling portfolio in the industry. With UIG, we anticipate extending that portfolio upstream to the utility interconnect and onsite power sources, creating a coordinated architecture from source to chip without tying customers to a single generation technology or supplier. Together, we anticipate being better positioned to support grid-connected sites, bridge-to-grid deployments and islanded sites supplied by onsite generation, while reducing complexity from site planning through rack-level deployment. This broader capability can help customers accelerate time to power and, ultimately, time to first token.”
Gio Albertazzi, Chief Executive Officer of Vertiv
“UIG was founded to solve increasingly complex power challenges for data center operators through flexible, technology-agnostic architectures. Vertiv’s global scale, critical infrastructure portfolio and service capabilities make it a strong strategic fit for what we have built. We believe this combination can expand the reach of UIG’s microgrid controls and power architecture expertise and create greater value for customers as power becomes an increasingly critical constraint on data center growth.”
Sidney Hinton, Founder and CEO of UtilityInnovation Group
