Data-center builder flaunts adaptability in IPO

Accelevation Holdings

25/09/2026 17:53

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
By Robert Cyran
NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Need air conditioning? Reliable work done quickly costs extra, and that goes double during a heat wave. Every homeowner's nightmare scenario is effectively what data-center builders are experiencing now, as companies that design and install the essential cooling and electrical infrastructure capitalize on a scorching market. Accelevation's ACCV.O initial public offering will provide a timely barometer of the perceived pace of construction and pricing power.
The company's own transformation is almost as astonishing as the AI explosion. Its precision-manufacturing business faced ruin when the pandemic struck, but boss Michael Rubiera started producing protective barriers for hospitals, schools and offices. Once the health threat waned, Accelevation then realized its gear would help data centers keep hot and cool air separate. It subsequently expanded into power distribution and, more significantly, modular data-center systems that result in quicker production with fewer defects and which require less skilled labor to install.
Accelevation generated $437 million of revenue in the first half, nearly triple the amount from a year earlier. Growth is accelerating, too, and the company reported a $1.1 billion backlog at the end of June. The book-to-bill, a measure of how fast new orders are coming in compared to revenue, for its modular units was 3.5 times. Related areas inside data centers, and power projects elsewhere, are also ripe for expansion.
In another surprising twist, Accelevation's mooted $4.9 billion valuation looks reasonable, at least on a relative basis. If its expansion continues apace, the top line would be about $1.2 billion for 2026. At the middle of its indicated IPO price range, $20 to $24 per share, the enterprise, including net debt, would be worth around 4.5 times revenue. Comfort Systems USA FIX.N, an HVAC provider whose stock price is up more than 2,000% over the past five years, trades at a similar multiple. Its rival’s operating margin is twice as high, at 17%, but Accelevation is also growing over three times faster.
The big risk remains a slowdown. Buildings, power, chips and other data-center gear will cost more than $10 trillion by 2032, according to a new Brookings Institution study. At that level, it would be more than any other investment boom in history as a percentage of the economy. Any pullback, for security or other reasons, threatens to shrink demand and prices for infrastructure suppliers. In that scenario, Accelevation would look more like an air conditioner salesman in autumn.
     
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CONTEXT NEWS
Accelevation, which provides infrastructure for data centers, said on September 22 that it plans to sell 8.6 million shares for between $20 and $24 each, in an initial public offering that would value the company's equity at about $4.9 billion. 
Existing owners of Accelevation, which designs and installs cooling and power systems, also intend to sell 21.4 million shares.
The company generated $437 million of revenue in the first half of the year, compared to $159 million a year earlier. It swung to $28 million of operating profit from a loss over the same span in 2025.
Olympus Partners, which bought Accelevation for an undisclosed amount in January 2025, will retain 85% of the company’s stock.
The IPO's lead underwriters are Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan. 

(Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb; Production by Pranav Kiran)
((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on CYRAN/robert.cyran@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: robert.cyran.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))