SLB buys Kelvion: 3.5 billion euros for AI cooling

07.09.2026

5 min read

Oilfield technology group SLB, formerly Schlumberger, is buying Herne-based heat exchanger maker Kelvion for around 3.5 billion euros including debt. The buyer sells prefabricated data center modules and, by adding cooling, aims to more than double revenue per gigawatt delivered. From the planned close in 2027, SLB can offer construction, power, IT and heat removal under one contract.

Key takeaways

The deal is scheduled to close in the first half of 2027, subject to approvals. Until then, Kelvion remains an independent supplier; the announcement does not say whether another legal entity will take over service contracts afterward.
SLB aims to more than double revenue per gigawatt delivered once cooling joins the modular package. For 2028, the group targets revenue equivalent to 3.9 to 4.3 billion euros from the combined data center business.
Data centers now account for about half of Kelvion’s revenue. Apollo became majority owner only in January 2026; seven months later, a resale is planned.
Awarding construction, power, IT and thermal management as one lot also buys SLB’s bundling power. Whether regulators will approve closing in the first half of 2027 and which legal entity will then take over service contracts remain unclear.

What is Kelvion? A heat exchanger and cooling technology manufacturer based in Herne. Its portfolio spans data centers, heat pumps and industrial processes. Revenue for 2026 is expected to reach the equivalent of around two billion euros, about half from data centers.

An oilfield technology group buys the cooling

An AI data center can be fully wired and powered. Yet its racks remain dark because chip heat cannot be removed. Each new-generation processor transfers waste heat to a cooling circuit. At its end, heat exchangers like Kelvion’s carry the heat outside. If this link is missing or arrives late, the facility stands idle. In the acquisition announcement, SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch called AI the biggest infrastructure cycle of his career. Gavin Rennick, who leads SLB’s new industrial business, describes customer expectations there: operators want partners who integrate critical systems across the facility. Thermal management tops his list.

SLB delivers prefabricated data center modules: building sections, power distribution and IT infrastructure arrive on site preassembled. The group puts average annual revenue growth in its data center division at over 90 percent between 2024 and 2026. SLB’s claim that modular construction cuts time to commissioning by up to 40 percent draws on industry comparisons and its own projects; it has not been independently measured. Still, it explains why an oilfield technology group is buying a cooling technology manufacturer: a supplier that meets the construction schedule sells the whole factory rather than individual components.

The German supplier changes parent after seven months

Kelvion remains a German industrial brand based in Herne with a global network, but gains a US oilfield technology group as owner. Apollo funds currently hold the majority stake; Triton, invested since 2014, holds the minority. Apollo completed its investment only in January 2026. Seven months later, a resale is planned, at a price reflecting Kelvion’s data center business: its 2026 revenue is expected to reach the equivalent of around 1.1 billion euros, about half the company’s total.

Closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Until then, service, spare parts and audits for Kelvion customers remain with the existing company. After closing, another legal entity could take over framework agreements, approvals and spare parts logistics. SLB’s announcement contains no provisions on this.

SLB pays eleven times EBITDA for the bundled lot

Acquisition metric	Value
Cash price	around 2.9 billion euros
Debt assumed	around 600 million euros
Total value	around 3.5 billion euros
Multiple of expected 2026 EBITDA	11 times, 8.5 times including expected savings
Expected EBITDA benefits from the combination	around 100 million euros annually within three years, just over half from savings, the rest from revenue opportunities
Kelvion data center revenue in 2026	around 1.1 billion euros
Combined 2026 data center revenue, pro forma	around 1.7 billion euros
2028 target for the combined business	3.9 to 4.3 billion euros

Source: SLB acquisition announcement, August 2026. Euro amounts rounded using the European Central Bank reference rate of 31 August 2026.

SLB is paying eleven times expected 2026 EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, because it wants cooling in its modular package rather than because heat exchangers are scarce. SLB justifies the price with its aim to more than double revenue per gigawatt delivered. Reaching the 8.5 multiple requires the roughly 100 million euros in additional annual EBITDA SLB promises: just over half from savings, the rest from revenue yet to materialize.

From 2027, SLB offers construction, power, IT and cooling in one contract

In an operator’s next tender, whether a major cloud provider, colocation provider or industrial group with its own campus, construction, power, IT and cooling may therefore no longer be separate lots. Today, operators usually award these four lots to separate suppliers and compare prices for each. From 2027, SLB will offer all four, using the construction schedule as its selling point. An operator awarding all four lots to SLB has no second cooling supplier under contract; separate lots remove the single point of liability for the commissioning deadline.

How SLB will integrate the Herne business remains unclear, as does whether German Kelvion customers will retain the same service, spare parts warehouses and legal counterparty after closing. These questions will be settled between signing in August 2026 and closing in the first half of 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Kelvion until the deal closes?

Apollo funds hold the majority stake and Triton the minority. Apollo invested only in January 2026 and is selling after seven months. Until regulatory approvals arrive, Kelvion remains its customers’ contractual partner.

Which comes first: computing capacity or cooling?

Both together. Without computing capacity, there is no load; without heat removal, the racks stay dark. Thermal management and modular construction help determine when a facility can begin operating.

How reliable is the claim of 40 percent faster commissioning?

It appears in SLB’s announcement and draws on industry comparisons and the group’s own projects. Nobody has independently measured it.