Blackstone has executed a definitive agreement to acquire Flow Control Holdings, a premier manufacturer of engineered flow control components and liquid cooling technology for high-density data centers, food, beverage, and pharmaceutical applications. Blackstone is completing the acquisition through private equity funds affiliated with Blackstone Capital Partners and Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, acquiring the equity stake from Audax Private Equity.
Following the transaction, Audax will maintain a minority equity position in FCH, collaborating alongside Blackstone and executive leadership to support the company’s next phase of market expansion.
Scaling Thermal Management for AI Data Center Infrastructure
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, FCH manufactures mission-critical, high-performance fluid control systems utilized by hyperscale data center operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company’s specialized hardware portfolio includes coolant distribution units (CDUs), in-row fluid manifolds, and secondary fluid networks (SFNs).
As AI compute clusters drive rack power densities beyond traditional thermal boundaries, liquid cooling has emerged as a fundamental infrastructure requirement. Compared to legacy air-cooling systems, direct-to-chip liquid cooling delivers superior power usage effectiveness (PUE), lowers carbon emissions, and sustains processing stability for advanced semiconductor architectures.
Also Read: Samsung Electronics and ASML Deepen Strategic Partnership to Drive Next-Generation Semiconductor Manufacturing
Bilal Khan, Senior Managing Director, and Mark Zhu, Managing Director, at Blackstone, said: “We believe that FCH has enormous tailwinds for continued growth as the latest generations of high-performance AI infrastructure increasingly rely on liquid cooling technology for significantly improved energy and chip efficiency. FCH has built deep trust with their customers for some of the most demanding workloads across both the data center and food, beverage, and pharmaceutical markets. We look forward to partnering with Scott and the entire FCH management team, as well as Audax, to invest in the company’s capacity expansion plan, support unprecedented liquid cooling demand, and further accelerate growth behind one of Blackstone’s highest-conviction investment themes – the immense buildout of AI infrastructure.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with Blackstone as we enter our next chapter of growth,” added Scott Kerns, Chief Executive Officer of FCH. “Over the past four years, we’ve invested significantly to develop a leading position in the data center cooling market supporting our OEM customers and hyperscalers. Audax has been a tremendous partner supporting FCH through investments in the team, capital for new production and distribution facilities, and the execution of 10 acquisitions to build FCH’s capabilities in the data center cooling, food, beverage and pharma markets.”
“We believe the sale of FCH represents a tremendous outcome for the incredibly dedicated and talented team at FCH as well as our investors,” added Audax Private Equity Partner Don Bramley. “Scott and the entire team have been outstanding partners in building FCH as a leader in the data center cooling market. We view the FCH investment as a text-book example of Audax’s ability to build strategic assets through disciplined execution of the Audax Value AgendaTM and Buy & Build approach. We look forward to partnering with Blackstone and continuing to support FCH in its next chapter of growth.”
Transaction Terms and Advisory Representation
The details on the financial aspects of the agreement have not been made public. The deal is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter and will be dependent on obtaining regulatory approvals.
Houlihan Lokey and Jefferies were the financial advisors for FCH, while Ropes & Gray LLP was its legal advisor. William Blair, UBS, and Goldman Sachs were the financial advisors for Blackstone, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP was its legal advisor.
