Key Takeaways
- • Acuity has agreed to acquire Parameter Technologies, a maker of leak detection, environmental monitoring and battery monitoring systems for data centers, at an enterprise value of $675 million, according to the announcement.
- • Parameter, a May River Capital portfolio company, expects calendar 2027 sales of approximately $100 million, up more than 30% from 2026, with EBITDA margins of about 40%, implying roughly 16.9x forward EBITDA.
- • Acuity will finance the deal with $500 million of borrowings and cash on hand, with J.P. Morgan and Bank of America as lead financing arrangers and PJT Partners advising Acuity.
- • Parameter will join Distech Controls within Acuity's Intelligent Spaces segment, extending Acuity's data center offering into leak detection and monitoring.
- • The transaction is expected to close around the end of calendar 2026, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance, and marks a successful exit for May River's data center-focused investment.
Summary
Acuity has agreed to acquire Parameter Technologies at an enterprise value of $675 million. Parameter is a portfolio company of Chicago-based May River Capital. On closing, the business will become part of Distech Controls within Acuity's Intelligent Spaces segment. Parameter, led by CEO Michael Blazes and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, makes sensors and monitoring systems that warn data center and facility operators of problems before equipment fails. Its RLE Technologies brand sells leak detection systems, including sensing cable that pinpoints the location of water or coolant leaks, along with environmental monitors for temperature, humidity and airflow. Its Cellwatch brand monitors the condition of every battery in backup power systems.
Demand for leak detection has grown as data centers adopt liquid cooling to serve high-powered artificial intelligence servers. A leak in these systems can damage equipment and take servers offline. Parameter has launched a battery monitor certified for explosive environments and has worked with UK-based Rotork on pairing leak detection with automatic shut-off valves in liquid-cooled facilities. May River acquired RLE Technologies in November 2023 and merged it with battery monitoring maker NDSL in December 2024 to form Parameter.
According to the announcement, Parameter expects calendar 2027 sales of approximately $100 million, up more than 30% from 2026, with EBITDA margins of about 40%. That implies 2027 EBITDA of roughly $40 million and a multiple of approximately 16.9x forward EBITDA. Based on projected 2026 sales of less than $77 million, the implied purchase multiple is roughly 22x. Acuity did not disclose a transaction multiple. The acquisition will be funded with $500 million of borrowings and cash on hand. Lincoln International advised Parameter, PJT Partners advised Acuity, and J.P. Morgan and Bank of America are lead arrangers of the financing. The deal is expected to close in Acuity's second fiscal quarter of 2027, around the end of calendar 2026, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance.
Acuity, an Atlanta-based industrial technology company with about 13,500 employees, said the acquisition extends its data center offering from building controls into sensing and monitoring and deepens Distech's relationships with cooling equipment makers. Peter Han, president of Acuity Intelligent Spaces, said Parameter's technology is highly complementary to Distech's portfolio. Parameter sells through the same system integrators, distributors and cooling equipment manufacturers used by Distech.
The deal reflects strong growth in the underlying market. Grand View Research estimates the global data center liquid cooling market at about $6.7 billion in 2025, rising to $8.2 billion in 2026 and $29.5 billion by 2033. MarketsandMarkets uses a narrower definition, placing the market at about $4.1 billion in 2026 with projected growth of about 31.5% annually to $27.7 billion by 2033. For May River, the sale follows its September sale of environmental monitoring maker Dickson to Copeland, a Blackstone portfolio company. May River Capital Fund III LP held a hard cap close with $500 million in commitments in July 2023. The firm invests $20 million to $90 million of equity in lower-middle-market industrial companies with EBITDA of $3 million to $15 million.
Demand for leak detection has grown as data centers adopt liquid cooling to serve high-powered artificial intelligence servers. A leak in these systems can damage equipment and take servers offline. Parameter has launched a battery monitor certified for explosive environments and has worked with UK-based Rotork on pairing leak detection with automatic shut-off valves in liquid-cooled facilities. May River acquired RLE Technologies in November 2023 and merged it with battery monitoring maker NDSL in December 2024 to form Parameter.
According to the announcement, Parameter expects calendar 2027 sales of approximately $100 million, up more than 30% from 2026, with EBITDA margins of about 40%. That implies 2027 EBITDA of roughly $40 million and a multiple of approximately 16.9x forward EBITDA. Based on projected 2026 sales of less than $77 million, the implied purchase multiple is roughly 22x. Acuity did not disclose a transaction multiple. The acquisition will be funded with $500 million of borrowings and cash on hand. Lincoln International advised Parameter, PJT Partners advised Acuity, and J.P. Morgan and Bank of America are lead arrangers of the financing. The deal is expected to close in Acuity's second fiscal quarter of 2027, around the end of calendar 2026, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance.
Acuity, an Atlanta-based industrial technology company with about 13,500 employees, said the acquisition extends its data center offering from building controls into sensing and monitoring and deepens Distech's relationships with cooling equipment makers. Peter Han, president of Acuity Intelligent Spaces, said Parameter's technology is highly complementary to Distech's portfolio. Parameter sells through the same system integrators, distributors and cooling equipment manufacturers used by Distech.
The deal reflects strong growth in the underlying market. Grand View Research estimates the global data center liquid cooling market at about $6.7 billion in 2025, rising to $8.2 billion in 2026 and $29.5 billion by 2033. MarketsandMarkets uses a narrower definition, placing the market at about $4.1 billion in 2026 with projected growth of about 31.5% annually to $27.7 billion by 2033. For May River, the sale follows its September sale of environmental monitoring maker Dickson to Copeland, a Blackstone portfolio company. May River Capital Fund III LP held a hard cap close with $500 million in commitments in July 2023. The firm invests $20 million to $90 million of equity in lower-middle-market industrial companies with EBITDA of $3 million to $15 million.
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