Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire all shares of FläktGroup, a leading global HVAC solutions provider, for €1.5 billion 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 of solutions to our customers,” said TM Roh, Acting Head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division at 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 and solutions tailored to each customer. FläktGroup supplies high-reliability and high-efficiency HVAC systems to a wide range of buildings and facilities, including data centers that require stable cooling, museums and libraries managing sensitive historical artifacts, airports and terminals with high foot traffic, and large hospitals where hygiene, temperature, and humidity control are critically important.
In the large-scale data center market globally, FläktGroup has secured high customer satisfaction through its product performance, reliability, and service support, achieving substantial revenue growth over the past three years. FläktGroup’s data center solutions include its industry-leading liquid cooling and air cooling products, which have enabled customers to reduce energy consumption, contributing to achieving lower carbon footprint goals.
Last year, FläktGroup won the DCS Cooling Innovation of the Year Award at the DCS Cooling Awards, in recognition of its innovative and advanced technologies.
“We are extremely pleased that FläktGroup has become a part of Samsung Electronics. 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,” said Trevor Young, CEO of FläktGroup. “Now, with Samsung Electronics’ global business foundation and investment, we expect to further accelerate our growth.”
In addition to data centers, FläktGroup has secured a diverse portfolio of over 60 large customers, including leading pharmaceutical companies, biotech and food and beverage firms, and gigafactories.
Samsung investing in HVAC business as key growth engine
The HVAC industry is expected to continue growing with demand for innovative and energy-efficient solutions 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.
According to some market research forecasts, the applied HVAC market is projected to grow from $61 billion in 2024 to $99 billion by 2030, at an annual growth rate of 8%, while the data center cooling market is expected to grow at a faster pace at an annual growth rate of 18%. The data center segment in particular has high entry barriers, requiring global supply experience and the ability to present optimal designs and solutions for customers.
In its acquisition of FläktGroup, Samsung anticipates sustained growth in data center demand due to the proliferation of generative AI, robotics, autonomous driving, XR, and other technologies.
In addition, Samsung’s building integration control solution (b.IoT) and FläktGroup’s HVAC control solution (FläktEdge) 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 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 International Inc. 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 within 2025.
