Samsung Electronics has acquired German HVAC specialist FläktGroup for €1.5bn from European investment firm Triton.

With the global applied HVAC market experiencing rapid growth, the acquisition reinforces Samsung’s commitment to expanding and strengthening its HVAC business.

“Through the acquisition of FläktGroup, an applied HVAC specialist, Samsung Electronics has laid the foundation to become a leader in the global HVAC business, offering a full range to our customers,” said TM Roh from Samsung Electronics. “Our commitment is to continue investing in and developing the high-growth HVAC business as a key future growth engine.”

FläktGroup, based in Herne, Germany, has over a century of accumulated technological expertise and design capabilities, offering diverse products tailored to each customer. It supplies high-reliability and high-efficiency HVAC systems to a wide range of buildings and facilities, including data centres that require stable cooling, museums and libraries managing sensitive historical artefacts, airports and terminals with high foot traffic, and large hospitals where hygiene, temperature and humidity control are critical.

In the large-scale data-centre market globally, FläktGroup has secured customer satisfaction through its product performance, reliability and service support, achieving revenue growth over the past three years. Its data-centre offerings include liquid-cooling and air-cooling products, which have enabled customers to reduce energy consumption, contributing to lower carbon footprints.

“We are extremely pleased that FläktGroup has become a part of Samsung Electronics,” said Trevor Young, CEO of FläktGroup (www.flaktgroup.com). “FläktGroup, as a global top-tier HVAC specialist with over a century of expertise, has been relied on by global large clients for its technological and product innovations. Now, with Samsung Electronics’ global business foundation and investment, we expect to further accelerate our growth.”

In addition to data centres, FläktGroup has secured a diverse portfolio of over 60 large customers, including pharmaceutical companies, biotech and food and beverage firms, and gigafactories.

The HVAC industry is expected to continue growing with demand for innovations and energy efficiencies that improve air quality and control temperature and humidity to provide comfort and safety. Samsung will continue to invest in the HVAC business and has recently made acquisitions and investments across robotics, medical technology and the consumer audio sectors as part of its commitment to expand into new growth businesses.

The applied HVAC market is projected to grow from $61bn in 2024 to $99bn by 2030, at an annual growth rate of 8%, while the data-centre cooling market is expected to grow at a faster pace at an annual growth rate of 18%. The data-centre segment in particular has high entry barriers, requiring global supply experience and the ability to present optimal designs.

In its acquisition of FläktGroup, Samsung anticipates sustained growth in data-centre demand due to the proliferation of generative AI, robotics, autonomous driving, XR and other technologies.

In addition, Samsung’s b.IoT building integration control offering and FläktGroup’s FläktEdge HVAC controller will offer a full suite of HVAC and building energy control systems, through which the company expects an expansion of its service and maintenance business.

Samsung (www.samsung.com) has been expanding its HVAC business with a focus on ductless systems, which supply general and system air conditioners to residential and commercial buildings. In May 2024, Samsung formed a joint venture with Lennox (www.lennox.com) to strengthen its position in the North America HVAC market and added Lennox’s distribution channels to the company’s own sales channels.

The transaction is expected to close this year.