(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co. is closing in on an agreement to buy FläktGroup Holding GmbH, acquiring the European heating and cooling specialist in its biggest overseas takeover in eight years.

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Samsung and FläktGroup-owner Triton Investments Advisers LLP are in the final stages of negotiating an acquisition that values the German firm at between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. They could announce a deal as soon as this week, the people said, asking to remain anonymous discussing private information.

FläktGroup would help bolster Samsung’s position against rivals such as LG Electronics Inc. in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning market, which is expanding rapidly alongside the need to cool data centers during the AI development boom.

The transaction also signals Samsung’s return to a more acquisitive mode, a shift intended to revive flagging growth across a business that spans chipmaking, appliances and smartphones. A FläktGroup deal would be the company’s most significant acquisition since its $8 billion purchase of Harman International Industries Inc. in 2017.

Negotiations are proceeding and talks could still fall through, though an acquisition would dovetail with Samsung’s renewed focus on a number of key arenas. Representatives for Samsung and Triton declined to comment. FläktGroup didn’t immediately respond to a Bloomberg News query.

FläktGroup was created in 2016 after private equity firm Triton acquired Fläkt Woods Group and merged it with DencoHappel to form a European leader in HVAC. The German company offers energy-efficient cooling solutions for a wide range of areas from data centers and factory clean rooms to industrial and residential buildings, according to its website.

Samsung has identified HVAC among its new growth pillars and has actively sought to buy assets. It was among the suitors for Johnson Controls International Plc but lost out to Robert Bosch GmbH last year.

Samsung’s then-Chief Executive Officer Han Jong-hee said at an annual shareholder meeting in March that the company is pursuing M&A in HVAC, robotics and medical technology to diversify its business and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

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The global HVAC market could reach $545.4 billion in 2034 from an estimated $310.6 billion in 2024, according to Global Market Insights Inc. Demand from data centers alone could grow 20% to 30% annually to as much as $20 billion by 2027, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote, citing Omdia estimates.

“The growing intensity of thermal management is exponential as AI accelerates and large hyperscale and colocation sites represent a bigger portion of the market,” they wrote in April.

--With assistance from Swetha Gopinath.

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