---
title: "Eaton exits cars and buys a 106-year-old Italian switchgear maker for €810 million"
description: "An October 16 filing recasts the vehicle business Eaton is spinning off; a September 25 deal for Italy's COL Group shows what it buys instead. Both land in Q1 2027, chasing grid and data-center demand that mostly converts from 2028."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Deals"
published: 2026-10-19T03:02:14.563Z
modified: 2026-10-19T03:02:14.563Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/eaton-exits-cars-and-buys-a-106-year-old-italian-switchgear-maker-for-810-million
language: en
keywords: "Eaton, M&A, Data Centers, Power, Grid"
---

# Eaton exits cars and buys a 106-year-old Italian switchgear maker for €810 million

> An October 16 filing recasts the vehicle business Eaton is spinning off; a September 25 deal for Italy's COL Group shows what it buys instead. Both land in Q1 2027, chasing grid and data-center demand that mostly converts from 2028.

## Oaktree leaves a century-old Italian maker, and Eaton walks in

On September 25, [Eaton](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/eaton), the Dublin-based power-management company, [agreed to buy COL Group from Oaktree's Power Opportunities fund](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/eaton-signs-agreement-acquire-col-group-expanding-manufacturing-capacity-and) for an enterprise value, the price including assumed debt, of €810 million, about $919 million [1][2]. COL makes medium-voltage switchgear and grid automation, the equipment that routes power across utility networks and into sites [1]. Oaktree, the Los Angeles investment firm that bought COL in 2021, is selling after five years [2].

COL was founded in 1920, employs about 400 people at plants in Turin, Milan, Bergamo and Catania, and is forecast to sell €250 million in 2027 [1][2]. Omar Zaire, president of Eaton's Europe, Middle East and Africa region, said the deal strengthens "integrated grid-to-chip power solutions" for utility and data-center customers [1].

## Selling the falling tail roughly pays for the entrance

[A filing on October 16](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551182/000155118226000034/0001551182-26-000034-index.htm) recast Eaton's 2025 accounts to show the vehicle business it is shedding, Mobility, as one segment: $3.11 billion of sales last year, down from $3.45 billion in 2024 and $3.60 billion in 2023 [3][4]. Mobility merges with US drivetrain maker Dana by the end of the first quarter of 2027, handing Eaton about $1.1 billion in cash [3][5].

*Chart: **Mobility sales have fallen three straight years** Column chart of Eaton Mobility segment net sales: $3.60 billion in 2023, $3.45 billion in 2024, $3.11 billion in 2025.*

*Mobility segment net sales as recast in Eaton's October 16 filing, which merges the vehicle and eMobility businesses into one segment. The unit merges with Dana by the end of Q1 2027, handing Eaton about $1.1 billion in cash. [3][4]*

COL closes the same quarter, subject to regulatory approval, so the car exit roughly funds the Italian entrance [1]. The buy-versus-build question comes with it: Eaton [finished a 5,000 square metre automated breaker expansion at Schrems, Austria, in under ten months](https://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2026-10/69725983-eaton-strengthens-european-manufacturing-with-expanded-production-facility-in-austria-004.htm) [6], and is paying about 3.2 times forecast sales for COL's four Italian plants [1][2].

## The demand is real, and most of it is dated 2028

[Second-quarter sales were $8.53 billion, up 21%](https://www.rackline.news/earnings/report/1lsjcdb), of which 14 points were organic, meaning without acquisitions, and Eaton raised full-year organic growth guidance to 11–13% [5]. Electrical Global, the segment COL joins, grew 44%, though only 18 points of that were organic; the rest arrived with the $9.55 billion Boyd liquid-cooling acquisition closed in March [5][7].

Electrical Global's backlog rose 103% year over year, against 43% for the electrical businesses as a whole, and data-center orders rose about 85% [5]. Management put US data-center backlog at 307 gigawatts, 15 years of building at 2025 rates, with most converting from 2028 [5].

*Chart: **Revenue growth has more than quadrupled from its late-2024 low** Line chart of Eaton's year-over-year revenue growth by quarter from Q1 2024 to Q2 2026, rising from about 8% to 21.4%.*

*Year-over-year net sales growth per quarter, from Eaton's SEC filings. Q2 2026 includes 7 points from acquisitions. [10]*

*Chart: **Q2 growth sat in electrical; the unit being spun off was flat** Bar chart of Eaton's Q2 2026 segment sales growth: Electrical Global 44%, Electrical Americas 18%, Aerospace 13%, Mobility flat.*

*Segment sales growth, Q2 2026 versus Q2 2025, as reported by Eaton. Electrical Global includes the Boyd acquisition; its organic growth was 18%. Mobility was flat year over year. [5]*

## The incumbents are growing too, and the multiple assumes delivery

Schneider Electric, France's electrical incumbent, just [printed 16.9% organic growth on €11.46 billion of quarterly sales](https://www.rttnews.com/3699636/schneider-electric-q3-revenues-climb-on-data-center-growth-lifts-fy26-outlook.aspx), with data-center demand more than doubling, and raised its 2026 outlook [8]. Eaton arrives in that home market as a challenger carrying 40.6 times trailing earnings on a $154.9 billion market value [9].

The division is the point: €810 million over €250 million of COL's forecast 2027 sales is about 3.2 times revenue, while the $9.55 billion Boyd liquid-cooling deal cost about 5.3 times its expected $1.8 billion of annual revenue [1][5]. Eaton also holds $18.5 billion of long-term debt after Boyd and paid $201 million of quarterly interest, nearly triple a year earlier [5]. The demand COL is bought against converts mostly from 2028 and later [5].

## The next reading lands on November 3

Eaton [reports third-quarter results before the open on November 3](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/eaton-is-set-to-report-november-3-2026-what-it-means-for-eaton-stock/70340882), with consensus at $3.54 a share [9]. The tells: whether Electrical Global holds its organic pace, and whether regulators clear COL in the same quarter the Mobility spin completes [1][3]. Eaton is betting it can buy European share faster than Schneider, Siemens and ABB, Europe's electrical incumbents, can defend it.

## Takeaway

Eaton is trading a shrinking $3.11 billion car business for a 106-year-old Italian switchgear maker at about 3.2 times sales, betting grid and data-center demand that mostly converts from 2028 can carry a 40.6 times earnings multiple.

## Sources

1. [Eaton press release via Nasdaq, "Eaton signs agreement to acquire COL Group, expanding manufacturing capacity and capabilities for data center and utility markets in EMEA", 25 September 2026](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/eaton-signs-agreement-acquire-col-group-expanding-manufacturing-capacity-and)
2. [Data Center Dynamics, "Eaton to acquire COL Group", 29 September 2026](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/eaton-to-acquire-col-group/)
3. [Bullished, "Eaton (ETN) Refiles 2025 Results With Vehicle And eMobility Merged Into One $3.1 Billion Mobility Segment", 17 October 2026](https://www.bullished.co/eaton-refiles-2025-results-with-vehicle-and-emobility-merged-into-one-3-1-billion-mobility-e26d534b/)
4. [Eaton Corporation plc, Form 8-K (segment recast), SEC EDGAR, filed 16 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551182/000155118226000034/0001551182-26-000034-index.htm)
5. [Rackline, "Eaton: Net sales up 21% to $8.53bn with record $3.15 adjusted EPS and Electrical backlog up 43%" (Q2 2026 results, reported 31 July 2026)](https://www.rackline.news/earnings/report/1lsjcdb)
6. [Business Wire via FinanzNachrichten, "Eaton Strengthens European Manufacturing With Expanded Production Facility in Austria", 1 October 2026](https://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2026-10/69725983-eaton-strengthens-european-manufacturing-with-expanded-production-facility-in-austria-004.htm)
7. [Insider Monkey via Yahoo Finance, "GE Vernova vs. Eaton: Which AI Power Stock Can Earn Its 47x or 29x Price?", 6 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/ge-vernova-vs-eaton-ai-025639725.html)
8. [RTTNews, "Schneider Electric Q3 Revenues Climb On Data Center Growth; Lifts FY26 Outlook", 16 October 2026](https://www.rttnews.com/3699636/schneider-electric-q3-revenues-climb-on-data-center-growth-lifts-fy26-outlook.aspx)
9. [Ad Hoc News, "Eaton is set to report November 3, 2026: what it means for Eaton stock", 16 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/eaton-is-set-to-report-november-3-2026-what-it-means-for-eaton-stock/70340882)
10. [Eaton Corporation plc, quarterly net sales from its SEC filings, retrieved 18 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001551182)


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Eaton exits cars and buys a 106-year-old Italian switchgear maker for €810 million — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/eaton-exits-cars-and-buys-a-106-year-old-italian-switchgear-maker-for-810-million