Vertiv

Vertiv’s history begins in 1965 with Liebert Corporation, a pioneer in precision computer room air conditioning.⁠[1]

In 1987 Emerson acquired Liebert Corporation. In 2000 Emerson formed its Network Power business, bringing its critical infrastructure technologies under one brand. Emerson Network Power went on to acquire Avansys in China (2001), Marconi’s outside plant and power systems business (2004), Knürr AG of Germany (2006), Avocent (2009) and the UPS maker Chloride (2010).⁠[2]

On December 1, 2016, Emerson announced it had completed the sale of its Network Power business to Platinum Equity and co-investors, receiving $4 billion in proceeds and retaining a subordinated interest. The business, with fiscal 2016 sales of about $4.4 billion, was rebranded as Vertiv and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.⁠[3]

The special purpose acquisition company GS Acquisition Holdings Corp sold 69,000,000 units in its initial public offering on June 12, 2018, and completed its business combination with Vertiv on February 7, 2020. PIPE investors bought 123.9 million Class A shares for $1.239 billion, and $1.464 billion of the proceeds went to repaying existing debt.⁠[4]

GS Acquisition Holdings Corp was renamed Vertiv Holdings Co, with its shares expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VRT on February 10, 2020. At closing Platinum Equity held about 38% of the common stock, former GS Acquisition stockholders about 25% and private placement investors the remaining 37%. David M. Cote was executive chairman and Rob Johnson chief executive.⁠[5]

On November 1, 2021, Vertiv announced it had completed the acquisition of E&I Engineering Ireland Limited and its affiliate Powerbar Gulf LLC, a maker of electrical switchgear and power distribution equipment with manufacturing sites in Ireland, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.⁠[6]

On October 3, 2022, Vertiv announced that CEO Rob Johnson would retire for health reasons effective December 31, 2022. Giordano Albertazzi, president of the Americas, became chief operating officer immediately and succeeded Johnson as CEO and director on January 1, 2023. Executive chairman David Cote noted Johnson’s six years as CEO and Albertazzi’s 24 years in the business.⁠[7]

On August 9, 2023, VPE Holdings, an affiliate of Platinum Equity, completed a secondary offering of 20 million Vertiv Class A shares, a 5.3% stake, at $34.91 per share, for proceeds of $698.2 million.⁠[8]

On December 4, 2023, Vertiv announced that its subsidiaries had agreed to acquire CoolTera Ltd, a UK liquid cooling infrastructure company founded in 2016 whose products include coolant distribution units, secondary fluid networks and manifolds. The deal was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, and the company said the price was not material to Vertiv.⁠[9]

On August 20, 2025, Vertiv announced it had completed the roughly $200 million acquisition of the Great Lakes Data Racks & Cabinets family of companies, based in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, a maker of data racks, integrated and seismic cabinets with manufacturing and assembly facilities in the U.S. and Europe.⁠[10]

On December 4, 2025, Vertiv announced it had completed the approximately $1.0 billion acquisition of Houston-based PurgeRite, which provides mechanical flushing, purging and filtration services for data centers and other mission-critical facilities. Albertazzi said the deal strengthens support for customers’ “high-density computing and AI applications.”⁠[11]

On February 11, 2026, Vertiv announced fiscal 2025 net sales of $10,229.9 million, up 26% organically, net income of $1,332.8 million and diluted EPS of $3.41. Fourth-quarter organic orders rose about 252%, and year-end backlog reached $15.0 billion, up 109%. Its 2026 net sales guidance was $13.25 billion to $13.75 billion.⁠[12]

Vertiv also said it would stop reporting quarterly orders and backlog and disclose backlog annually. Albertazzi said, “The pipeline has not depleted,” and called coolant distribution units “a long-term element of the thermal chain.”⁠[13]

On March 6, 2026, S&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) is a global index provider that compiles and licenses benchmark indices including the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It was formed in 2012 by combining McGraw-Hill’s S&P index business with the Dow Jones Indexes business held by a joint venture of CME Group and Dow Jones, and it is now the index business division of S&P Global, which holds about 73% of the interest.Open the full entry announced that Vertiv Holdings would join the S&P 500S&P 500The S&P 500 is a U.S. large-cap equity index compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It includes 500 leading companies, covers about 80% of available market capitalization and is described by S&P DJI as “widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities.”Open the full entry before the market opened on March 23 as part of the quarterly rebalance, in the GICS Industrials sector, alongside Lumentum Holdings, Coherent and EchoStar.⁠[14]

On October 28, 2026, Vertiv announced third-quarter 2026 net sales of $4,313 million, up 61%, and net income of $764.5 million. It raised full-year 2026 net sales guidance to $14.45 billion to $14.85 billion. Albertazzi said, “We are in the middle of the largest infrastructure buildout and it’s accelerating.”⁠[15]