Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global provider of critical digital infrastructure, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Great Lakes Data Racks & Cabinets family of companies (collectively “Great Lakes”) for $200 million. Great Lakes is recognised for designing and manufacturing innovative, highly customised data rack enclosures and other integrated infrastructure offerings that form the foundation of today’s data centres. 

The purchase price represents approximately 11.5x expected 2026 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) including cost synergies and cross-selling opportunities. The acquisition is expected to enhance Vertiv's capacity to deliver pre-engineered, future AI-ready rack solutions optimised for enterprise, edge, colocation and hyperscale AI computing markets.

Established in 1985 and headquartered in Edinboro, PA, U.S., Great Lakes operates manufacturing and assembly facilities in the U.S. and Europe. Its portfolio includes standard and custom racks, integrated cabinets, seismic cabinets, and enhanced cable management access options for both retrofit and greenfield applications. This addition strengthens Vertiv's end-to-end critical digital infrastructure offerings, enhancing Vertiv’s ability to provide the industry’s most complete set of products and services for critical digital infrastructure needs.

"Great Lakes is a leading rack manufacturer with an extensive portfolio of high-end rack solutions and innovation capabilities that are essential in an increasingly demanding high-density AI infrastructure environment," said Gio Albertazzi, CEO at Vertiv. "With the acquisition of Great Lakes, Vertiv strengthens its position as a premier technology solutions provider in the critical white space market. Our combined capabilities enable us to deliver comprehensive, engineered infrastructure solutions that go beyond basic integration, addressing the complex challenges of next-generation AI technology."

The integration of Great Lakes’ expertise with Vertiv's existing portfolio is expected to deliver significant customer benefits through consolidated infrastructure sourcing, faster deployment through pre-engineered solutions, enhanced operational efficiency with factory integration of Vertiv™ power and cooling solutions, improved scalability for AI and edge computing applications, and comprehensive support through Vertiv's global service network.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, and is expected to close in the third quarter 2025.