Vertiv to Acquire UtilityInnovation Group for $1.45 Billion

Vertiv Holdings Co. announced the agreement on September 2, 2026, stating that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vertiv Corporation, has entered into an agreement and plan of merger to acquire Utility Innovation Holdings, Inc., which operates as UtilityInnovation Group (UIG), a provider of microgrid solutions, advanced power controls and behind-the-meter power architecture design for data centers. Vertiv will pay approximately $1.45 billion in cash at closing, with additional consideration of up to $1.15 billion in cash based on UIG achieving certain earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) targets over 12- and 24-month periods.

At the approximately $1.45 billion purchase price, the acquisition represents approximately 13x expected UIG 2027 EBITDA, according to Vertiv. The company said the EBITDA multiple is anticipated to be significantly lower if the full earnout is paid, and that it expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in the first year following completion.

Vertiv said the transaction extends its power and cooling portfolio upstream to the grid interconnect, adding microgrid controls, onsite generation and energy storage orchestration, and behind-the-meter power architecture, independent of any single generation technology or supplier. According to the company, these capabilities are expected to help data center operators secure power faster as grid constraints increasingly limit AI infrastructure deployment.

Vertiv said that as power availability becomes a more critical factor in data center development, architecture decisions are moving earlier in the planning process. Microgrid systems can coordinate onsite generation and energy storage, reduce reliance on utility power and support the grid when needed, which the company said is expanding the importance of power architecture at the earliest stages of site development, when decisions can have significant implications for downstream infrastructure.

“For AI data center operators, competitive advantage increasingly depends on how quickly they can move from site selection to first token,” said Gio Albertazzi, chief executive officer of Vertiv. “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.”

Albertazzi said the combined company anticipates 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. He said the broader capability can help customers accelerate time to power and, ultimately, time to first token.

UIG founder and chief executive officer Sidney Hinton said: “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.” Hinton said the combination can expand the reach of UIG’s microgrid controls and power architecture expertise as power becomes an increasingly critical constraint on data center growth.

UIG Portfolio and Operations

According to Vertiv, UIG has designed and delivered microgrid systems for AI data center operators across the United States and Europe, supported by extensive utility relationships and experience with complex, large-scale deployments. UIG’s designs are generation-agnostic, allowing architectures to be built around the technologies a site can permit, fuel and finance.

UIG’s behind-the-meter power architecture design work engages customers at the earliest planning stages, before equipment is selected, which Vertiv said enables it to help define the power blueprint that shapes downstream infrastructure decisions. That work is supported by pre-validated reference designs for grid-connected, bridge-to-grid and islanded sites. UIG’s technology includes a proprietary controls platform and pre-engineered microgrid switchgear that orchestrate multiple power sources in real time and coordinate them with the critical power train.

Vertiv said it expects the combined organization to help customers design and deploy integrated power architectures that improve speed, resiliency, efficiency and flexibility. Expected customer and operator benefits cited by the company include faster access to power with less dependence on utility interconnection timelines, the ability to scale site capacity beyond what the grid alone can provide, and a single accountable relationship from grid interconnect through rack-level infrastructure.

Founded in 2020, UIG is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, with European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and manufacturing operations in North Carolina and New Jersey. The company designs and delivers power systems that support real-time load and frequency balancing across behind-the-meter systems and utility-connected energy resources, addressing the power demands of AI data center workloads. Its solutions include proprietary controls software, customized microgrid switchgear and energy storage.

Closing Conditions and Advisors

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as financial advisor to Vertiv, and Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC is serving as legal counsel to Vertiv. Morgan Stanley (MS ) & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to UIG, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as legal counsel to UIG.

Vertiv provides power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services for data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, the company does business in more than 130 countries.