SLB Announces $4.1B Acquisition of Kelvion to Expand into Data Center Market

SLB has filed an 8-K announcing a definitive agreement to acquire Kelvion, a global provider of thermal management and heat exchange technologies. The transaction is valued at approximately $4.1 billion, consisting of ~$3.4 billion in cash and the assumption of ~$0.7 billion in debt.

Strategic Rationale: The acquisition is a significant strategic move for SLB to strengthen its Data Center Solutions business and expand its role in the data center infrastructure market, which is experiencing rapid growth due to the expansion of AI. Kelvion's expertise in thermal management is critical for optimizing performance in increasingly complex and energy-intensive data centers.

Financial Details & Projections:

• Target: Kelvion is being acquired from Apollo-managed funds and funds advised by Triton.
• Valuation: The total transaction value represents approximately 11 times Kelvion's estimated 2026 EBITDA.
• Kelvion's 2026 Outlook: Expected revenue of $2.3B - $2.4B and adjusted EBITDA of $350M - $400M.
• Synergies: SLB expects to generate approximately $120 million in annual EBITDA synergies within three years.
• Accretion: The deal is expected to be accretive to both earnings per share (EPS) and free cash flow (FCF) per share in the first 12 months post-closing.
• Combined Business Outlook: For 2028, SLB is targeting revenue of $4.5B - $5B and adjusted EBITDA of $700M - $800M for its combined data center solutions business.

Closing & Shareholder Returns: The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2027. SLB reaffirmed its commitment to return more than $4 billion to shareholders in 2026.