Vertiv to Acquire Utility Innovation in Up to $2.6 Billion Deal

09:11 AM EDT, 09/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Vertiv (VRT) has agreed to acquire microgrid firm Utility Innovation in a deal worth up to $2.6 billion, as part of the company's efforts to help data center operators accelerate power deployment amid rising grid constraints. The digital infrastructure provider will buy Utility Innovation, which operates as UtilityInnovation, for $1.45 billion in cash, it said Wednesday. The transaction also includes an additional consideration of up to $1.15 billion in cash if certain adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization targets are achieved over a 12-month and 24-month period, according to Vertiv. Vertiv's shares edged down 0.5% in the most recent premarket activity. The acquisition will extend Vertiv's power and cooling portfolio to the grid interconnect. It will also add Utility Innovation's microgrid controls, onsite generation and energy storage capabilities to Vertiv's offerings, helping data center operators secure power faster amid growing grid constraints. "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," Chief Executive Gio Albertazzi said in a statement. "This broader capability can help customers accelerate time to power and, ultimately, time to first token." The deal, which requires approval from regulators, is expected to complete in the fourth quarter. Vertiv expects the transaction to be accretive to its adjusted earnings on a per-share basis in the first year after completion. "Vertiv's global scale, critical infrastructure portfolio and service capabilities make it a strong strategic fit for what we have built," according to UtilityInnovation CEO Sidney Hinton. "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." In July, Vertiv reported a 60% year-over-year jump in its second-quarter adjusted EPS to $1.52, while sales climbed 24% to $3.27 billion. At the time, the company said it expected adjusted EPS to be in a range of $6.65 to $6.75 and sales to come in at $14 billion for the 2026 full year. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $6.71 and sales of $14.01 billion. During a conference call with analysts in July, Chief Financial Officer Craig Chamberlin told analysts that the company was participating in an "active" merger and acquisition market and "looking at several targets." In June, Vertiv completed its acquisition of heat rejection and heat-exchange technologies provider ThermoKey. The company in April said that it will buy liquid-cooling technology company Strategic Thermal Labs.