Flex Acquires Crown Technical Systems; Moves Into Modular Data Center, Power Distribution Markets
Flex has reached a deal to acquire Crown Technical Systems, a provider of fully integrated power distribution and protection systems for $325 million in an all-cash transaction.
Flex expects the acquisition deal to be accretive in the first year after it closes.
Crown Technical Systems brings nearly 30 years of solving the most pressing power distribution and control challenges.
Crown has extensive capabilities in enclosures, modular solutions, medium-voltage switchgear, control equipment, and relay panels.
The company also has a diverse set of long-standing customers spanning utilities, data centers, and power generation, with facilities in California, Texas, and Canada.
Multi-Faceted Acquistion Benefits
Flex said the acquisition will increase its exposure to fast-growing, margin-accretive end markets, including modular data center adoption and medium-voltage power distribution.
Also, the acquisition extends Flex's power portfolio into the utility power market, supported by long-term trends in grid modernization and energy generation growth.
At the same time, the acquisition strengthens Flex's critical power portfolio and accelerates its growth in the U.S. data center market.
Long-Term Growth Strategy
Crown Technical Systems is expected to generate revenue of approximately $120 million and high-teens EBITDA margin in fiscal 2025, which ends on March 31, 2025.
After meeting customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval, the company said it expects to close the acquisition transaction no later than December 2024.
"The addition of Crown Technical Systems strengthens our position to help customers solve power, heat, and scale challenges in the data center space, which is aligned with our long-term growth strategy," said Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex.
Advanced Liquid Cooling Capabilities
Flex is widely known for providing its customers with innovative liquid cooling capabilities at both the board and rack levels, the better to handle the power density requirements and massive amounts of heat generated by AI data centers.
Flex delivers data center rack designs that can integrate single-phase, direct to chip liquid cooling and are also enabled for two-phase liquid cooling processes for data centers.
Such advanced liquid cooling capabilities are available as part of the company's vertically integrated data center rack systems.
All systems are designed, manufactured, delivered and maintained from Flex’s "cloud-focused locations" around the world, as stated on the company's website.
Reflecting the AI data center focus and spirit of collaboration and innovation on display at this month's 2024 OCP Global Summit (Oct. 15-18), Flex and JetCool announced at that event that the companies are now partnering to provide direct-to-chip liquid cooling equipment and services.
As seen in this video, at the 2024 OCP Global Summit, Kevin Hart, Senior Director of Product Strategy for Flex, presented his company's innovative liquid-cooled ORV3 rack level solutions for AI / HPC infrastructure.
Hart discussed Flex's breadth of services and products that cover 80% of the data center, and showed how the company delivers data center IT and power infrastructure solutions to address the challenges of power, cooling and scale in the AI era.
This included a discussion of the Flex OCP ORv3 liquid-cooled rack solution based on JetCool's cold-plate technology, along with Flex OCP-compliant and -inspired power supplies and ORv3 power shelves.
The talk also considered the Flex Modular Compute Platform as a flexible and modular platform that supports DC-MHS 2.0 -compliant Host Processor Modules (HPM) and the Flex Secure Module (DC-SCM 2.0).
This article appeared in slightly different format at DCF's sibling brand in Endeavor Business Media, Lightwave.
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About the Author
Sean Buckley
Sean Buckley is Editor in Chief of Endeavor Business Media's Lightwave, responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategies across the publication's websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products.
Matt Vincent
Matt Vincent is Editor in Chief of Data Center Frontier, where he leads editorial strategy and coverage focused on the infrastructure powering cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and the digital economy. A veteran B2B technology journalist with more than two decades of experience, Vincent specializes in the intersection of data centers, power, cooling, and emerging AI-era infrastructure. Since assuming the EIC role in 2023, he has helped guide Data Center Frontier’s coverage of the industry’s transition into the gigawatt-scale AI era, with a focus on hyperscale development, behind-the-meter power strategies, liquid cooling architectures, and the evolving energy demands of high-density compute, while working closely with the Digital Infrastructure Group at Endeavor Business Media to expand the brand’s analytical and multimedia footprint. Vincent also hosts The Data Center Frontier Show podcast, where he interviews industry leaders across hyperscale, colocation, utilities, and the data center supply chain to examine the technologies and business models reshaping digital infrastructure. Since its inception he serves as Head of Content for the Data Center Frontier Trends Summit. Before becoming Editor in Chief, he served in multiple senior editorial roles across Endeavor Business Media’s digital infrastructure portfolio, with coverage spanning data centers and hyperscale infrastructure, structured cabling and networking, telecom and datacom, IP physical security, and wireless and Pro AV markets. He began his career in 2005 within PennWell’s Advanced Technology Division and later held senior editorial positions supporting brands such as Cabling Installation & Maintenance, Lightwave Online, Broadband Technology Report, and Smart Buildings Technology. Vincent is a frequent moderator, interviewer, and keynote speaker at industry events including the HPC Forum, where he delivers forward-looking analysis on how AI and high-performance computing are reshaping digital infrastructure. He graduated with honors from Indiana University Bloomington with a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing and lives in southern New Hampshire with his family, remaining an active musician in his spare time.
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