Hundreds of employees at Calgary’s CoolIT Systems will receive significant payouts following its USD $4.75 billion sale to Ecolab, marking a major liquidity event for the city’s tech sector. Under a broad ownership program introduced by KKR in 2023, all 650 staff held equity, with returns ranging from one to eight years of salary.
The deal highlights the value of employee participation in high-growth firms. CoolIT, a leader in liquid cooling for data centres, has benefited from rising AI demand. The transaction, expected to close in 2026, also delivers strong returns for KKR.
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