Nov 3 (Reuters) - Eaton will acquire Boyd

Corporation's thermal business from Goldman Sachs Asset

Management for $9.5 billion, the fourth deal this year for the

power management firm seeking to bolster its data center segment

to cater to AI demand surge.

The global appetite for energy-intensive data centers has

sparked a wave of dealmaking across the industry, as companies

race to build capacity to meet the surge in power and cooling

needs.

Peer Vertiv ( VRT ) also announced its plan to acquire

PurgeRite Intermediate for about $1 billion to expand its liquid

cooling services portfolio.

"What is impressive to us is that Eaton has gone "all-in" in

liquid cooling with this chunky deal size, rather than dipping

its toe in with a small investment like the other players have

done," said Deane Dray, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

Boyd Thermal forecast sales of $1.7 billion for 2026, a

majority of which is expected to come from its liquid cooling

technology used at data centers, Eaton said on Monday, adding

the deal value would represent 22.5 times Boyd Thermal's

estimated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation

and amortization for 2026.

"Our combined expertise in both power and liquid cooling

from the chip to the grid will enable customers to manage

increasing power demands more effectively," said Eaton CEO Paulo

Ruiz.

The company said in August it expects data center and

distributed IT equipment to account for the largest share of its

sales by the end of 2025, at about 17%.

Earlier this year, it bought Fibrebond, which designs and

builds pre-integrated modular power enclosures used at data

centers, for $1.4 billion.

In the last few months, it also acquired Resilient Power

Systems, which makes transformers with applications in the EV

sector and the data center industry, for an undisclosed amount,

and aerospace systems firm Ultra PCS for $1.55 billion.

Eaton said the Boyd acquisition, expected to close in the

second quarter of 2026, would boost its adjusted earnings

starting in the second year after the deal is completed.

Goldman acquired California-based Boyd for $3 billion

alongside China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp

(CIC) in 2018, Reuters reported previously.

The investment was made via the China-U.S. Industrial

Cooperation Fund that Goldman and CIC

co-established in late 2017

on the sidelines of Donald Trump's visit to Beijing during

his first term as U.S. president.

After the sale, Boyd's engineered materials business

will continue to be backed by Goldman, the industrials company

said in a statement late on Monday.