Batesville Casket Co. to be sold
BATESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — LongRange Capital, a private investment firm, has agreed to buy Batesville Casket Co.
Batesville Casket Co. is a leading provider of death care products and services. According to a release, LongRange’s purchase of Batesville is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.
“As longer-term oriented investors with an operational focus and significant carve-out experience, we look forward to partnering with the Batesville management team and its dedicated associates in further supporting the business for many years to come,” Bob Berlin, Managing Partner at LongRange, said. “We are greatly appreciative of Batesville’s long and successful operating history as part of Hillenbrand and we look forward to working closely to execute a seamless transition.”
The deal is valued at $761.5 million.
Batesville Mayor Mike Bettice says the sale was expected.
“But, of course, it was a little shocking when it was ‘OK, it’s official,’ so now it’s time to move on,” Bettice said.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to continue on within a positive fashion,” the Republican mayor said.
The Batesville Coffin Co. was founded in 1884. John A. Hillenbrand bought it in 1906, and it became the Batesville Casket Co. Hill-Rom, which made hospital beds and patient-monitoring devices, was started in 1929 as a sister company of Batesville Casket as part of Hillenbrand Industries. The two companies split in 2008, and Hill-Rom moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2015. Hill-Rom in September 2021 still employed as many 1,900 people in Batesville when it was sold to Chicago-based medical tech firm Baxter International in a $10.5 billion deal.
The mayor said of the latest change, “You never know for sure how that will all play out, but we have kind of a taste of how it works when Hill-Rom moved on when it was bought by Baxter.”
The mayor said of the company, “It’s probably made this city to be honest. If you go back through the history of Batesville and you look at how we have progressed over the years, so much of it is tied to Hillenbrand and the business and the family.”
Susan Whistler, a Batesville resident, told News 8, “You just never know what’s going to happen, and I hear people who work there talk about they’re not sure what’s going to happen and so it kind of puts everybody on the edge.
Community members say the Hillenbrand company has played an important role in the community. Maggie Geis, the owner of Geis TV Inc., told News 8, “It’s really important for people to see this town since it’s such a smaller town and we’re kind of tucked away, so it’s just important to have larger businesses that bring in that labor and those sorts of people into our town, so they can see what our town is about and so that the town can continue to grow.”
Statements
“Batesville is a strong business with passionate associates who are committed to our customers and our mission of helping families honor the lives of those they love. We are excited to mark this important milestone for Batesville, and to work closely with LongRange as we position the business for its next chapter.”
Chris Trainor, president of Batesville Casket Co.
“As longer-term oriented investors with an operational focus and significant carve-out experience, we look forward to partnering with the Batesville management team and its dedicated associates in further supporting the business for many years to come. We are greatly appreciative of Batesville’s long and successful operating history as part of Hillenbrand and we look forward to working closely to execute a seamless transition.”
Bob Berlin, managing partner at LongRange