Vertiv to Acquire Data Rack Maker for $200 Million. The AI Stock Is Climbing.

The purchase of Great Lakes Data Racks & Cabinets makes sense, says Evercore ISI. (NYSE)

Shares of Vertiv Holdings were rising sharply Thursday after the maker of data center infrastructure solutions announced an agreement to acquire Great Lakes Data Racks & Cabinets for $200 million.

Great Lakes, a privately-held company headquartered in Edinboro, Penn., manufactures data rack enclosures that Vertiv says will boost its capacity to deliver pre-engineered infrastructure offerings for artificial-intelligence and edge computing.

The $200 million price tag represents about 11.5 times Great Lakes’ expected 2026 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, Vertiv said. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval.

Vertiv shares were rising 4.9% to $131.49 on Thursday.

The acquisition is small relative to Vertiv’s $48 billion market capitalization, but it makes sense for the company’s competitive positioning, said Evercore ISI’s Amit Daryanani.

“We think M&A remains a key lever for the company to enhance its end-to-end critical digital infrastructure capabilities,” Daryanani wrote in a note Thursday. “Particularly in high-growth areas like AI-ready rack solutions and liquid cooling technologies.”

Vertiv’s debt burden is low compared to its earnings, Daryanani added, giving the company leeway to make investments in a data-center space that continues to attract investor attention. Evercore has a Buy rating and a $150 price target for Vertiv.

Shares of the Columbus, Ohio-based company are up 16% so far this year and 59% over the last 12 months.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com