Vertiv

Who owns Vertiv?
Vertiv Holdings Co. is a publicly traded company listed on NYSE (VRT) and owned by institutional investors, mutual funds, and individual shareholders. Prior to its 2020 IPO, the company was owned by private equity firm Platinum Equity.

Is Vertiv publicly traded?
Yes, Vertiv is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker VRT. The company went public in February 2020 through a SPAC merger with GS Acquisition Holdings Corp.

What does Vertiv do?
Vertiv designs, manufactures, and services critical digital infrastructure solutions including power management systems, thermal management (cooling) systems, IT infrastructure management tools, and electrical infrastructure for data centers and mission-critical facilities.

What is Vertiv's revenue?
In FY2024, Vertiv reported net revenues of approximately $8.1 billion, up approximately 20% year-over-year, driven by surging demand for data center infrastructure related to AI workloads.

Why is Vertiv benefiting from AI?
AI workloads require significantly more power and cooling per server rack than traditional computing workloads. AI servers can consume 10-30 kilowatts per rack, compared to 5-10 kilowatts for traditional servers. This drives demand for Vertiv's high-density power management and cooling solutions.

When was Vertiv founded?
Vertiv traces its roots to 1965 when Eugene Liebert founded Liebert Corporation. The business was acquired by Emerson Electric in 2000, sold to Platinum Equity in 2016 (and rebranded as Vertiv), and went public in 2020.

Vertiv's history traces back to 1965 when Eugene Liebert founded Liebert Corporation in Columbus, Ohio. Liebert was a pioneer in precision computer room air conditioning, developing specialized cooling systems for the emerging computer industry. As computers became more powerful and heat-generating, Liebert's thermal management expertise became increasingly valuable.

Liebert Corporation grew throughout the 1970s and 1980s, expanding its product portfolio to include uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and other power management products for data centers and mission-critical facilities.

In 2000, Emerson Electric acquired Liebert Corporation and integrated it into Emerson Network Power (ENP), a division focused on critical infrastructure for data centers and telecommunications. Under Emerson's ownership, ENP expanded significantly through acquisitions, including Marconi's outside plant and power systems (2004), Knurr (2006, rack and enclosure systems), and Avocent (2009, IT management and KVM switches).

Emerson Network Power became one of the world's largest providers of critical digital infrastructure, with revenues of approximately $4 billion and operations in more than 150 countries.

In December 2016, private equity firm Platinum Equity acquired Emerson Network Power from Emerson Electric in a transaction valued at approximately $4 billion. The business was rebranded as Vertiv, and Rob Johnson was appointed as CEO.

Under Platinum Equity's ownership, Vertiv continued to expand through acquisitions, including Energy Labs (2018, commercial and industrial thermal solutions), Geist (2018, rack power distribution units), and E+I Engineering Group (2021, electrical switchgear and modular power).

In February 2020, Vertiv became a publicly traded company through a merger with GS Acquisition Holdings Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Goldman Sachs. The transaction valued Vertiv at approximately $5 billion.

Following its public listing, Vertiv continued to grow, benefiting from strong demand for data center infrastructure driven by cloud computing, 5G telecommunications, and edge computing.

The emergence of generative AI in 2022-2023 created a step-change in demand for data center infrastructure, as AI workloads require significantly more power and cooling than traditional computing workloads. Vertiv became a major beneficiary of the AI-driven data center buildout, with its power and cooling products in high demand from hyperscale cloud providers and AI companies.

Giordano Albertazzi was appointed CEO in 2023, succeeding Rob Johnson. Albertazzi had previously served as Vertiv's President of the Americas.

In FY2024, Vertiv reported net revenues of approximately $8.1 billion, up approximately 20% year-over-year, reflecting the strong demand for data center infrastructure related to AI workloads.

Vertiv has continued to make strategic acquisitions, including CoolTera Ltd (2023, liquid cooling technology) and Great Lakes Data Racks & Cabinets (2025).

Vertiv has faced scrutiny related to supply chain constraints, as the surge in demand for data center infrastructure has strained the company's manufacturing capacity and supply chain.

The company's SPAC listing in 2020 was followed by a period of stock price volatility, as investors assessed the company's growth prospects and profitability.

Vertiv has also faced questions about the sustainability of the AI-driven data center buildout and whether demand will remain at elevated levels or moderate as AI infrastructure investment normalizes.