April 16 (Reuters) - Madison Air Solutions secured a valuation of $15.65 billion after its shares jumped 18.5% in their debut on Thursday, signaling solid investor demand for companies tied to AI-driven data center growth.
The shares of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) firm opened at $32, above the offer price of $27.
The Chicago, Illinois-based company raised $2.23 billion in its U.S. initial public offering on Wednesday, after selling 82.7 million shares at the top end of its marketed
range of $25 to $27.
Madison Air's offering marks the largest U.S. IPO of 2026 to date and the biggest listing in the industrials sector since United Parcel Service raised $5.5 billion in 1999, according to Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.
Founded in 2017 through a series of acquisitions, the company provides air quality solutions for residential and commercial clients across a range of sectors, including data centers, advanced manufacturing, education and healthcare.
However, its debut comes at a time when the U.S. IPO market remains uneven, hit by a tech sell-off, strains in private credit and an ongoing conflict in the Middle East, even as demand persists for companies linked to AI infrastructure.
Heating and cooling equipment makers have benefited from a surge in data centers, as rapid growth in AI and cloud computing drives demand for advanced cooling systems to manage heat from power-intensive servers.
Madison Air generated about 66% of its revenue from its commercial segment last year, with the remainder from residential customers. Its brands include Nortek Air Solutions and Nortek Data Center Cooling.
The company was formerly known as Madison Indoor Air Quality and was formed under the leadership of Larry Gies, the founder and CEO of privately held Madison Industries.
(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita and Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
