Germany’s Coperion (Stuttgart; www.coperion.com), a global leader in compounding, extrusion and bulk material handing equipment, has been acquired by US-based Hillenbrand (Batesville, Indiana / USA; www.hillenbrand.com) from private equity investor Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG, Frankfurt / Germany; www.deutsche-beteiligung.de) for EUR 408m. The purchase price is less than the company’s annual sales of EUR 520m in fiscal year 2011/2012 (EBITDA totalled EUR 38.7m) but includes EUR 76m in debt and EUR 100m in pension obligations.

Hillenbrand CEO Kenneth A. Camp called the acquisition, expected to close in December 2012 or January 2013 following regulatory approval, “a very significant move.” He said it will enable the company to capitalise on opportunities in combined equipment sales, accelerated global expansion as well as leveraging replacement parts and service. For Coperion, CEO Günter Bachmann said the takeover presents chances to diversify outside the plastics industry, in line with the company’s long-term strategy.

Including the new German assets, Hillenbrand forecasts annual sales revenue of more than USD 1 bn for its Process Equipment Group, which in future will account about two-thirds of Hillenbrand's total sales. The current business with three operating units including feeding and pneumatic conveying equipment manufacturer K-Tron and separation equipment manufacturer Rotex focuses on design, production, marketing and servicing of processing equipment and systems.

Hillenbrand’s other business group, which calls itself as “a leader in the North American death care industry", manufactures and markets funeral products such as caskets, containers, urns and burial vaults.