26North buys data center equipment mover MEI from Olympus

26North Partners signed a definitive agreement to acquire MEI Industrial Solutions from Olympus Partners. MEI provides rigging, machinery moving, storage and logistics for data center and semiconductor customers. Under Olympus it grew from 16 to 30 locations, made seven acquisitions and now has nearly 2,500 employees. Terms were not disclosed.

Why it matters: Private equity keeps chasing the picks-and-shovels businesses behind the data center building boom.