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T5 Data Centers spins out construction arm as EverOn, sells operations unit to Salute. 7 Sept 2026 By: IDCNOVA Region: North America T5 Data Centers has announced a major corporate restructuring, spinning off its construction division into an independent company now known as EverOn Data Center Services, while simultaneously reaching a definitive agreement to sell its operations business to Salute, a global provider of data center lifecycle services. The moves mark a significant shift in how the company intends to position itself amid surging demand for AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. The sale of T5 Operations to Salute, announced this week, is expected to significantly expand Salute's managed portfolio to more than 15 gigawatts of data center capacity across approximately 150 markets worldwide. The acquisition will also increase Salute's global workforce to more than 3,800 employees. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. David Mettler, executive vice president of T5 Operations, who will join Salute's executive leadership team following the close of the deal, said the transaction validates the strength of the company's service model and operational focus. "For our customers, this represents the right partnership to meet their support needs across the full data center lifecycle," Mettler said. "I'm looking forward to bringing T5's owner mindset to the Salute team and be part of Salute's industry-leading portfolio of global data center solutions." Salute, founded in 2013 and formerly known as Salute Mission Critical, provides integrated services including facility operations and management, quality assurance, technical commissioning, and retrofitting for data center owners. Erich Sanchack, CEO of Salute, emphasized that the deal reflects the company's growth trajectory driven by global demand for AI and HPC facilities. "We are highly aware that this growth brings with it significant responsibility," Sanchack said. "As a services provider developing a highly skilled workforce, we are citizens of the communities in which data centers operate, committed not only to meeting demand from customers, but to leaving a positive legacy." Pete Marin, CEO of T5 Data Centers, who will join Salute's board as part of the acquisition, said the deal builds on what the operations team has established over the past 12 years while providing customers and employees access to the resources of a global platform. The acquisition follows a series of strategic moves by Salute since New Mountain Capital acquired a majority stake in the company in 2024 from LLR Partners, which retains a minority investment. Salute subsequently acquired Keysource in January 2025, Advanced Data Center Consulting Group in March, and engineering consulting firm Northshore in November of the same year. In parallel, T5 Construction has been rebranded as EverOn Data Center Services, an independent general contractor focused exclusively on mission-critical digital infrastructure. The construction business, originally established within T5 Data Centers, has grown from $87 million in revenue in 2021 to $1.7 billion in 2025, with 83 percent of that revenue now coming from third-party construction projects. EverOn's team has completed more than 260 construction projects and delivered more than 12 million square feet of data center space across the United States. "Establishing EverOn as an independent company provides the dedicated focus, agility, and scale needed to support this rapidly growing third-party customer base and meet the industry's next generation of demand," T5 said in a statement. The newly independent contractor offers services including ground-up campus development, data hall fit-outs, retrofits and upgrades, design-build delivery, LLE equipment procurement, commissioning oversight, QA/QC, owner advisement, and preconstruction services. Tom Mertz, formerly T5 Services COO and president and now president and CEO of EverOn Data Center Services, said the change positions the business for future growth. "While our name is changing, what customers rely on is not," Mertz said. "EverOn gives us the opportunity to focus entirely on helping customers build increasingly complex digital infrastructure while creating the flexibility to grow alongside the industry we serve." T5, founded in 2008 and backed by QuadReal, develops build-to-suit data centers across the U.S., with a presence in markets including Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Hillsboro, Dallas, and Charlotte. The company recently announced plans to develop multiple gigawatt-scale campuses, beginning with a site outside Chicago. The restructuring follows an organizational change announced at the start of the year, which split the company into T5 Services, encompassing construction and operations, and T5 Properties, which manages data center assets and developments. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to Salute, while Lazard served as exclusive financial advisor and King & Spalding LLP served as legal counsel to T5 Operations. The transactions underscore a broader industry trend in which data center owners are increasingly separating development, construction, and operations functions to sharpen focus and scale more efficiently in response to unprecedented infrastructure demand.

T5 spins out construction arm, sells operations biz to Salute. T5 Construction now EverOn Data Center Services September 04, 2026 T5 Data Centers has spun out its construction arm into an independent data center-focused general contractor business and sold its operations unit to Salute. T5 Operations sold to Salute. Announced this week, Salute has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire T5 Operations. Terms of the deal were not shared. Upon closure, the acquisition will expand Salute's operational footprint to more than 15GW+ of data center capacity under management across some 150 markets globally, while increasing the number of worldwide staff to more than 3,800 employees. "Salute's announcement of the deal to acquire the T5 Operations business is exciting for our employees, because it recognizes the strength of our services model and our focus on operational excellence," added David Mettler, EVP of T5 Operations, who will join the Salute executive leadership team. "For our customers, this represents the right partnership to meet their support needs across the full data center lifecycle. I'm looking forward to bringing T5's owner mindset to the Salute team and be part of Salute's industry-leading portfolio of global data center solutions." Founded in 2013, Salute (formerly Salute Mission Critical) is a provider of integrated lifecycle services, such as facility operations and management, quality assurance, technical commissioning, and retrofitting services to data center owners. "This latest deal is a significant step in our growth journey, one that's fueled by demand for AI/HPC facilities across the world," said Erich Sanchack, CEO of Salute. "We are highly aware that this growth brings with it significant responsibility. As a services provider developing a highly skilled workforce, we are citizens of the communities in which data centers operate, committed not only to meeting demand from customers, but to leaving a positive legacy. Finding companies that share our vision and our values is hugely important to us, and with the team at T5, we are confident we have found exactly that." "Joining Salute creates an opportunity to build on what our Operations team has already established over 12 years, while giving our customers and employees access to the resources and reach of a global data center operations platform as our industry continues to experience unprecedented growth," added Pete Marin, CEO, T5 Data Centers, who will join the Salute board as part of the acquisition. New Mountain Capital acquired a majority stake in Salute in 2024 from LLR Partners, which still has a minority investment in the company. In January 2025, Salute acquired data center solutions and strategic advisory service provider Keysource in its first deal since being taken over by New Mountain, followed by Advanced Data Center Consulting Group in March and engineering consulting firm Northshore in November the same year. T5 spins out T5 Construction. At the same time, T5 Construction has rebranded to EverOn Data Center Services, an independent data center construction company dedicated exclusively to delivering mission-critical digital infrastructure. Originally established within T5 Data Centers, the company said the EverOn DCS construction business has grown from $87 million in revenue in 2021 to $1.7 billion in 2025, with 83 percent coming from third-party construction projects. EverOn's team has delivered more than 260 completed construction projects and more than 12 million square feet of delivered data center space across the United States. "Establishing EverOn as an independent company provides the dedicated focus, agility, and scale needed to support this rapidly growing third-party customer base and meet the industry's next generation of demand," T5 said. The renamed general contractor can deliver ground-up campuses, data hall fit-outs, retrofits and upgrades, design-build delivery, LLE equipment procurement, commissioning oversight, QA/QC, owner advisement, and preconstruction services. "Today's announcement is about positioning our business and our customers for the future," said Tom Mertz, formerly T5 Services COO and president, and now president and CEO of EverOn Data Center Services. "While our name is changing, what customers rely on is not. EverOn gives us the opportunity to focus entirely on helping customers build increasingly complex digital infrastructure while creating the flexibility to grow alongside the industry we serve." Founded in 2008, T5 develops build-to-suit data centers across the US. Backed by QuadReal, it has a presence across Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles, California; Hillsboro, Oregon; Dallas, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and beyond. The company recently announced plans to develop multiple gigawatt-scale campuses, starting with a site outside Chicago, Illinois. T5 announced an organizational change at the turn of the year, splitting into T5 Services (including T5 Construction and T5 Operations) and T5 Properties, with the latter managing the company's data center assets and developments. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to Salute. Lazard served as exclusive financial advisor and King & Spalding LLP served as legal counsel to T5 Operations, LLC. Get a weekly roundup of North America news, direct to your inbox. More in investment / M&A / financing.