(Reuters) -Hillenbrand is being taken private by investment firm Lone Star Funds for $2.3 billion in cash, sending the industrial equipment maker’s shares surging about 19% in early trading.
A Lone Star affiliate is offering $32 per Hillenbrand share, a 30% premium to its closing price on Friday. Shares of the company opened at $31.41.
The deal, valued at about $3.8 billion including Hillenbrand’s debt of roughly $1.5 billion, is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2026, the company said.
Hillenbrand builds equipment used in manufacturing and recycling, ranging from plastic molding machines to systems that mix and process food and industrial materials.
In recent years, the company, which counts Honda, Toyota, Shell and Nestlé among its clients, has streamlined its portfolio to focus on becoming a pure-play industrial firm through several strategic divestments.
The Batesville, Indiana-based manufacturer will be the latest addition to Lone Star Funds’ assets under management of $95 billion, which span investments in private equity, credit and real estate.
Evercore is serving as Hillenbrand’s financial adviser, while Jefferies and UBS Investment Bank are advising Lone Star on the deal.
(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam and Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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