SLB wants more revenue from every gigawatt of data center capacity it delivers. Olivier Le Peuch put $4.1 billion behind that plan on August 31. SLB agreed to acquire Kelvion for $3.4 billion in cash and the assumption of $700 million in debt.
The price equals roughly 11 times Kelvion's estimated 2026 EBITDA before cost savings. SLB expects Kelvion to generate $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion in 2026 revenue and $350 million to $400 million in adjusted EBITDA. Data centers are Kelvion's largest and fastest-growing end market, with $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in expected 2026 revenue.
SLB already sells power, cooling and modular infrastructure into data center projects. Kelvion adds heat exchangers, dry coolers, evaporative systems, air coolers and service capacity. Le Peuch said the combination more than doubles SLB's revenue opportunity per gigawatt of delivered capacity.
The company expects the combined data center operation to produce more than $2 billion in pro forma 2026 revenue and about $300 million in adjusted EBITDA. Its 2028 target reaches $4.5 billion to $5 billion in revenue and $700 million to $800 million in adjusted EBITDA. Those numbers turn thermal equipment into the center of an industrial growth plan.
The filing also shows where management expects to find value. SLB projects $120 million in annual EBITDA savings within three years. Including those savings, the purchase multiple falls to about 8.5 times EBITDA. The transaction should close in the first half of 2027, subject to approvals, and SLB expects it to add to earnings and free cash flow per share during the first 12 months.
Cooling acquisitions once moved between HVAC manufacturers and private equity funds. SLB brings oilfield project execution, modular fabrication and industrial service contracts. That operating model fits data center campuses that increasingly resemble power projects with server halls attached.
Kelvion's owners, funds managed by Apollo and advised by Triton, are selling into a market where thermal capacity carries strategic value. The deal follows a broader run of cooling acquisitions tracked by The Cooling Report, including Ecolab's move into direct liquid cooling.
The number to watch is revenue per gigawatt. SLB believes ownership of more cooling equipment can more than double it. If that math holds, other industrial contractors will need a thermal catalog of their own. The cooling roll-up has moved beyond HVAC.