3C merges with Datalec to form AI data centre group

3C has merged with Datalec to form 3C Datalec. The combined group expects revenue of more than USD $400 million in 2026.

The deal combines 3C's liquid cooling-led data centre infrastructure services with Datalec's data centre engineering operations. The enlarged business will offer design, construction and operational services for data centre operators through a single organisation.

3C Datalec has about 1,000 employees and active projects in 16 countries. It works with four of the five largest hyperscalers, more than 25 colocation providers, and neocloud and enterprise customers across Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and North America.

Longbow Capital, S2G Investments, Apogem Capital and QIC are providing new investment backing for the business. Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed.

The company plans to hire 200 engineers over the next 12 months and open facilities in Warsaw, Calgary and Austin. Datalec's headquarters will remain in London, and its founding leadership team will stay in executive roles in the combined group.

Service scope

Management has organised the new group into three business areas: design and engineering; construction and installation; and operational support. These activities include liquid cooling, mechanical and electrical engineering, ODM manufacturing, connectivity installation, commissioning, maintenance and facilities management.

The combination comes as operators face rising thermal and power demands from AI workloads and denser server racks. Liquid cooling is becoming a larger part of data centre planning as air cooling struggles to manage higher heat loads in some deployments.

Steve Walton, Chief Executive Officer of 3C Datalec and formerly of CoolIT Systems, said operators now face a broader challenge than cooling equipment alone. They must integrate cooling, electrical systems, construction and ongoing site operations.

"Rack densities have outgrown air, and liquid cooling is no longer optional," said Steve Walton, Chief Executive Officer of 3C Datalec.

"At CoolIT, we spent years preparing for this moment and became a global leader in liquid cooling. The hard part now is making cooling, power, construction and operations work as one system while running at scale. We're combining our liquid cooling expertise with Datalec's engineering, manufacturing and FM capabilities, so customers have one partner from design to operation," Walton said.

Leadership continuity

Datalec was founded in London in 2012. Its co-founders, Danny Keeper and Stuart Richmond, will continue in leadership roles within the enlarged company.

"Datalec has always been a people-first business. We've grown by building strong relationships, delivering for our customers and creating a culture that people want to be part of," said Danny Keeper, Group Director & Co-Founder of Datalec.

"Finding a partner in 3C that genuinely shares those values was extremely important to us. This partnership allows us to grow globally while protecting the culture and identity that have been at the heart of Datalec since day one," Keeper said.

Richmond said the merger would allow the business to add liquid cooling services at broader scale while keeping existing customer relationships and delivery teams in place.

"Our customers have trusted Datalec with their most critical sites for more than a decade, and we earn that trust on every project," said Stuart Richmond, Group Director & Co-Founder of Datalec.

"Joining 3C means we can now offer liquid cooling at global scale, but our commitment doesn't change: the same teams, the same contacts and the same focus on getting it right for every customer," Richmond said.

Investor view

Investors backing the deal linked the merger to a broader build-out of AI-related data centre infrastructure and the need to retrofit existing facilities for denser computing loads.

"AI is rewriting the requirements for data centre infrastructure and liquid cooling sits at the centre of that shift," said Matthew Cunning, Director of Longbow Capital.

"Steve helped build a category leader in liquid cooling and Datalec brings a proven delivery business with a loyal customer base. We're backing 3C Datalec to become the partner of choice for AI-ready infrastructure," Cunning said.

"The next phase of data centre investment will be shaped by both new development and the need to upgrade existing facilities for higher-density workloads," said Bala Nagarajan, Managing Director of S2G Investments.

"Datalec has built deep trust delivering complex projects in that environment, and 3C brings the experience and capabilities to extend those relationships into a broader set of services across the life of a facility," Nagarajan said.

The company is also expanding internal training through apprenticeships, technical training and career development programmes, alongside an employee equity scheme, as competition for experienced data centre engineers remains tight.