ebm-papst

Industrial · Cooling/HVAC · Data Centers

Acquisition

Madison Air to acquire German fan maker ebm-papst for $5.4B

Data-center cooling demand is turning niche industrial fan makers into strategic acquisition targets for scale-hungry US players.

• Madison Air Solutions (NYSE: MAIR) signed a definitive agreement to acquire ebm-papst at an enterprise purchase price of $5.4 billion, or $5.0 billion net of future tax savings, valuing the German firm at 14.6x its forecasted 2026 adjusted EBITDA.
• Founded in 1963 and headquartered in Mulfingen, Germany, ebm-papst is a pioneer of electronically commutated fan and motor systems, with more than 250 million fans installed worldwide across HVAC/R and industrial applications.
• The three founding families (McCracken, Philippiak and Sturm) will exit as shareholders; Mulfingen stays headquarters and the deal is expected to close by year-end 2026 pending regulatory approval.
• ebm-papst employs over 13,000 people (5,800 in Germany) and grew revenue 6% to about €2.24 billion in its latest fiscal year, with US revenue up 25% to €424 million on data-center demand.
• Madison Air expects the deal to be accretive to adjusted EPS in the first full year and projects $160 million in annual run-rate synergies by year three.
• The tie-up shows how the AI data-center buildout is pulling once-quiet industrial suppliers of fans, motors and cooling systems into billion-dollar cross-border consolidation.