South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to acquire FläktGroup, a leading global heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) solutions provider, for 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion) from European investment firm Triton.

It is Samsung’s first multibillion dollar deal since its acquisition of Harman International Industries Inc., a company specializing in automotive electronics and audio, in 2017.

Samsung Electronics reportedly selected Citigroup Global Markets Securities as its underwriting advisor for the acquisition.

HVAC, which encompasses cooling, heating, ventilation, and humidity control, has traditionally focused on business-to-consumer (B2C) products, but it has recently been elevated to an infrastructure industry due to the rise of large-scale data centers and gigafactories brought by artificial intelligence (AI).

FläktGroup, based in Herne, Germany, is Europe’s largest HVAC company with over a century of accumulated technological expertise and design capabilities.

It supplies high-reliability and high-efficiency HVAC systems to a wide range of buildings and facilities, including data centers that require stable cooling, museums and libraries managing sensitive historical artifacts, airports and terminals with high foot traffic, and large hospitals where hygiene, temperature and humidity control are critically important.

In particular, it is recognized for having top-tier cooling performance in cooling distribution unit (CDU) equipment, which utilizes liquid cooling methods.

The company is now rapidly expanding its base of large clients amid surging demand for AI-related thermal management.

Industry observers noted that Samsung’s decision to acquire FläktGroup reflects a strategy of not just manufacturing products and components but also gaining control over the environments in which they are used.

Just as Harman turned vehicle interiors into a Samsung platform via in-vehicle infotainment, FläktGroup is expected to bring data centers, a key infrastructure in the AI era, under Samsung’s strategic domain.

Samsung’s HVAC business has mainly focused on ductless systems, supplying business-to-business (B2B) solutions for relatively simple spaces such as apartments, retail stores, and offices, but global demand is quickly shifting toward B2B industrial infrastructure.

HVAC systems vary by structure: centralized systems that control entire buildings with a single unit; ducted systems that use ceiling-mounted air handling units (AHUs) to distribute air; and ductless systems that directly connect indoor and outdoor units.

The latest acquisition is expected to enable Samsung to expand into centralized HVAC solutions.

Furthermore, given that FläktGroup has a client base of over 60 industrial customers worldwide, primarily in Europe, this acquisition is expected to provide Samsung not just technical upgrades, but also immediate access to FläktGroup’s sales channels, service networks, and entire customer base.

In the United States, Samsung already operates a joint venture with HVAC firm Lennox International Inc., and with the addition of a European hub, it has now completed a global HVAC triangle.

“HVAC is not a sector that evolves as quickly as mobility or information technology (IT),” said an industry insider. “Once you secure market share, it is hard to displace. A vertically integrated structure - from design to delivery and maintenance - is extremely stable.”

In this regard, observers noted that Samsung Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee’s long-term strategic moves are gaining momentum.

Lee has steadily expanded investments in future-oriented industries, such as AI, robotics, medical technology, and audio, over the past several years.

These moves go beyond securing individual technologies, aiming to build a unified ecosystem encompassing devices, services, content, and user environments.

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