STUTTGART, GERMANY — Hillenbrand Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Schenck Process Food and Performance Materials (FPM) business, a portfolio company of Blackstone.

The transaction is expected to close during Hillenbrand's fiscal fourth quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

At closing, FPM will become a part of the Food, Health & Nutrition Division of Coperion, an operating company of Hillenbrand. FPM joins previous acquisitions Linxis Group, Peerless and Gabler Engineering in that division. 

FPM’s Performance Materials business brings additional products and an expansion of existing product lines to Coperion’s polymer portfolio, as well as applications in the construction materials and chemicals space.

Coperion’s Food, Health & Nutrition Division is composed of multiple brands — Bakon, Coperion K-Tron, Diosna, Gabler Engineering, Peerless, Shaffer, Shick Esteve, Unifiller and VMI — that serve customers in more than 100 countries. Key FPM brands include Baker Perkins, Kemutec and Raymond Bartlett Snow.

“FPM’s strong brands and deep expertise directly align with the growth strategy of Coperion’s Food, Health & Nutrition Division,” said Ulrich Bartel, president of Coperion.

“This acquisition builds on the momentum generated over the last 12 months as Coperion has built up its strategic strength in the food end market and expanded its footprint, enabling our team to provide more solutions to customers around the world,” Mr. Bartel added. “For our polymer, chemicals and minerals business, this acquisition means an expansion of our existing product portfolio, and we will be able to offer our customers even better solutions.” 

The company noted that Coperion will benefit from scale in categories such as pet food and alternative proteins as well as plastics and chemicals. Moreover, Coperion stated it will be able to offer more value to global customers through FPM’s processing solutions and proprietary technology portfolio. 

Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., FPM has more than 1,300 global employees and sells to customers in more than 150 countries, with approximately 85% of revenue generated in North America.

FPM specializes in the design, manufacturing and service of feeding, filtration, baking and material handling technologies.

Jay Brown, president of FPM, pointed out its business is positioned for future growth.

“This acquisition provides global growth opportunities this transaction presents, and I am confident that by combining our complementary strengths, we will be able to offer enhanced comprehensive processing solutions to customers around the world,” he said.