MW Eaton takes aim at $500 billion data-center backlog with its latest, biggest buyout this year

By Steve Gelsi

Eaton is spending $9.5 billion to acquire Boyd Thermal, after buying Firebond and Resilient Power for more than $1.5 billion combined over the past three months

Eaton sees an opportunity to take part in a surge of investment in data-center construction.

Eaton Corp is making its third and largest acquisition this year to boost its product offerings in the data center infrastructure space, which has seen a construction backlog reach nearly half a trillion dollars over the past year.

Eaton $(ETN)$ said Monday its $9.5 billion purchase of the Boyd Thermal unit of Boyd Corp. from seller Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s $(GS)$ private-equity arm will add a liquid cooling business to its array of electrical products including backup power, power distribution units, conduit boxes, fittings and fiber networks.

"In data centers particularly, our combined expertise in both power and liquid cooling from the chip to the grid will enable customers to manage increasing power demands more effectively," Eaton Chief Executive Paulo Ruiz said in a statement.

MarketWatch reached out to Eaton for additional comment on the expected impact of the acquisition on its data center business, but did not immediately receive a response.

Eaton has already announced two data-center deals over the previous three months: the $150 million purchase of Resilient Power on July 16 and the $1.4 billion acquisition of Fibrebond Corp., a designer and builder of modular power enclosures for data centers, in March.

Asked about Eaton's focus on data centers at a Sept. 12 investor conference, CEO Ruiz said the company sees an opportunity as the spending on data-center projects - those currently in construction or announced to begin construction - has soared in the past year, to an estimated $470 billion from $150 billion a year ago.

"It's over three times the backlog that the industry had in hands last year - so, it's a tremendous tailwind for our business and we are really excited about it," Ruiz said.

In the second quarter, Eaton's data center business grew 50% and its orders were up 55%, he said.

"So that market is really hot," Ruiz said.

Eaton's stock rose 0.3% in morning trading Monday. It has gained 15.4% in 2025, while the S&P 500 index SPX has advanced 16.6%.

Along with data centers, Eaton said it sees opportunities to support utility companies as well as commercial and defense-related aerospace.

While data centers have been seen as a boost to tech companies in the artificial-intelligence business, the power demand for AI has driven interest in many industrial sectors, including utility companies such as Constellation Energy Corp. (CEG) and even bulldozer maker Caterpillar Inc. $(CAT)$.

Also read: Caterpillar's stock hits a record high on bright outlook for energy and AI data-center development

Wall Street's interest in the arena remains strong, as shown by the success of an initial public offering from power-development company Fermi Inc. (FRMI), which managed to raise $683 million in its IPO even though it has yet to generate any significant revenue.

Boyd Thermal is expected to generate $1.7 billion in sales in 2026. Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which has owned Boyd Thermal since 2018, will retain ownership of Boyd's remaining engineered materials business as an independent company.

Separately, Eaton is due to report third-quarter results on Tuesday. Based on current analyst estimates compiled by FactSet, the company is expected to report an eighth straight quarter of year-over-year sales declines.

-Steve Gelsi

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November 03, 2025 09:58 ET (14:58 GMT)

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