BATESVILLE, IN — Hillenbrand Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a process to explore strategic alternatives for its Batesville business.
As part of the process, the Board will consider a range of potential alternatives.
“Today’s announcement is a defining moment for Hillenbrand, building on the exceptional work our teams have done to position our businesses for success,” said Kim Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hillenbrand. “Batesville has been a recognized leader in the death care industry for more than 115 years because of its exceptional quality, innovation, and customer service. Through this process, we are focused on determining the best path to benefit Batesville, its stakeholders, and Hillenbrand.”
The company has retained Evercore as the financial adviser for its evaluation of strategic alternatives for Batesville.
Hillenbrand does not intend to provide any additional information on the review of strategic alternatives for Batesville unless or until the process is completed or terminated.
In addition, Hillenbrand has announced that it has signed a binding offer to acquire LINXIS Group.
LINXIS is considered a leading global provider of mixing, ingredient automation, and portioning solutions for food and other higher-growth end markets.
Closing on the sale is expected to occur before calendar year-end, subject to regulatory approvals.
LINXIS Group has six market-leading brands – Bakon, Diosna, Shaffer, Shick Esteve, Unifiller, and VMI – that serve customers in over 100 countries.
With a global footprint and headquarters in Nantes, France, LINXIS Group specializes in the design, manufacturing, and service of dosing, kneading, mixing, granulating, drying, and coating technologies that are complementary to the equipment and solutions offered under Hillenbrand’s Coperion brand.
“LINXIS Group will continue to build upon our profitable growth strategy by further strengthening and accelerating our position in the attractive food end market and enhancing the technical capabilities of our products and service offerings,” Ryan said. “By leveraging the combined capabilities of our Coperion brand and the LINXIS Group brands, we will be able to offer more
comprehensive processing solutions, creating significant value for our customers. Through cross-selling opportunities in key geographies, the deployment of the Hillenbrand Operating Model, and utilization of our scalable foundation, we expect this acquisition to deliver compelling long-term shareholder value.”
(Hillenbrand Inc. press release)
