Wesco International Bolsters Data Center Business with Ascent Acquisition

Wesco International, Pittsburgh, plans to acquire Ascent, St. Louis, MO, a 330-employee provider of data center facility management services  in the United States and Canada for a cash-free, debt-free purchase price of $185 million.

It’s the second major acquisition of a data center specialist for Wesco, which in 2022 bought Rahi Systems Holdings, Fremont, CA, for $217 million. Rahi Systems is a systems integrator in the data center space and has worked with customers worldwide. At the time of the acquisition, Rahi Systems had more than 900 employees in 25 countries around the world. Wesco combined Rahi with its Communication and Security Solutions (CSS) strategic business unit.

Ascent delivers solutions for every aspect of mission-critical data center operations and infrastructure from next-generation AI data center design, and builds all the way through the operations and maintenance life cycle. Their services include liquid cooling design and implementation, facility-wide maintenance, critical systems repairs, emergency services, and management of third-party maintenance workflows. In addition, Ascent’s proprietary Navigator platform provides an integrated client dashboard designed to support critical data center infrastructure and facilities.

“This services-based acquisition strengthens our leading data center solutions portfolio for our customers,” said John Engel, chairman, president and CEO of Wesco, in the press release. “In addition to site operations, Ascent’s engineering expertise and professional services further enhance our solutions that span the entire lifecycle of the data center.”

Bill Geary, executive VP and general manager, Wesco Communications and Security Solutions, said in the press release that Ascent would be “an ideal pairing” with Wesco Data Center Solutions. “This acquisition will allow us to further extend our end-to-end service offerings — including advanced liquid cooling solutions — in collaboration with our supplier and contractor partners to meet the demands of the rapidly growing data center market,” he said in the press release.