UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 19, 2022

HILLENBRAND, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:   (812) 934-7500

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. of Form 8-K):

¨    Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨    Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Emerging growth company ¨

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On July 20, 2022, Hillenbrand, Inc. (“Hillenbrand” or the “Company”) announced that it has signed a binding offer to acquire LINXIS Group SAS, a company organized under the laws of France (“Linxis”). On July 19, 2022, the Company’s indirect wholly owned subsidiary Hillenbrand Germany Holding GmbH (the “Purchaser”), a company organized under the laws of Germany, entered into a put option agreement (the “Put Option Agreement”) with the majority equity owners of Linxis, specifically, each of Iberis International S.À R.L., a company organized under the laws of Luxembourg and an affiliate of IK Partners (“Iberis”), Mr. Timothy Cook (“TC”), and Mr. Didier Soumet (“DS” and, together with Iberis and TC, collectively, the “Sellers” and, each, a “Seller”). Pursuant to the Put Option Agreement, the Purchaser made a binding offer (the “Offer”) to purchase all of the issued and outstanding securities of Linxis and its subsidiaries (together with Linxis, collectively, the “Group Companies” and, each, a “Group Company”), based upon an enterprise value of EURO 572 million and a resulting equity value expected to be approximately EURO 407 million (the “Acquisition”). In connection therewith, the Purchaser and the Sellers have agreed upon a locked-box mechanism for the Acquisition, subject to customary permitted leakage provisions, with a lock box date of December 31, 2021, plus a daily ticking fee calculated until the closing date. The Company expects to use a combination of cash available under the Company’s revolving credit facility, committed debt financing, and cash on hand to fund the Acquisition.

Pursuant to the Put Option Agreement, in consideration for the Purchaser’s undertakings thereunder, the Sellers granted to the Purchaser an exclusivity undertaking that extends from the signing date of the Put Option Agreement to the earlier to occur of (1) the signing date of the securities purchase agreement governing the Acquisition, the form of which is attached to the Put Option Agreement (the “SPA”), and (2) December 31, 2022. During such exclusivity period, the Sellers and their representatives shall not, subject to certain exceptions, directly or indirectly pursue, initiate, solicit, or encourage any competing alternative proposals, or enter into any agreements with respect thereto, and further agree to terminate all existing discussions, negotiations, and communications concerning any alternative proposal and not provide any third parties any information in connection therewith (all as described more fully in the Put Option Agreement with respect to any “Transaction Proposal,” as defined therein).

Pursuant to the Put Option Agreement, the Sellers also agree to cause all Group Companies to operate in the ordinary course of business and refrain from taking certain non-ordinary course actions until the earlier of the signing date of the SPA or the expiration of the Put Option Agreement.

In addition, following completion of required French works council consultation processes and delivery by Iberis (as “Beneficiaries’ Agent,” defined in the Put Option Agreement) of a notice of intent to exercise the put option, pursuant to the terms of the Put Option Agreement, the Purchaser undertakes to, among other things (1) execute the SPA in the form attached to the Put Option Agreement, (2) enter into a warranty agreement (the “Warranty Agreement”) associated with the Acquisition in the form attached to the Put Option Agreement, and (3) consummate the Acquisition as provided in the SPA. The Offer will remain open for acceptance by the Sellers until the earlier of seven business days after the completion of the required consultation processes, and November 30, 2022.

The Purchaser’s and the Sellers’ obligations to complete the Acquisition will be subject to certain conditions under the SPA, including customary applicable regulatory approvals. Each of the SPA and the Warranty Agreement will include certain representations, warranties, and covenants of the parties thereto. The SPA will also provide that either the Purchaser or the Sellers have the right to terminate the SPA in the event that the closing conditions have not been satisfied by December 31, 2022.

The Acquisition is expected to close before the end of calendar year 2022.

The foregoing descriptions of the Put Option Agreement, the SPA, and the Warranty Agreement, respectively, do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the Put Option Agreement (including the annexes thereto), which is filed as Exhibit 2.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated by reference herein.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On July 20, 2022, the Company issued a press release announcing that it had signed a binding offer with respect to the Acquisition. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1. On July 20, 2022, the Company issued a press release announcing its intention to explore strategic alternatives for its Batesville® business. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2.

Exhibit 99.1 and Exhibit 99.2 are incorporated into this Item 7.01 by reference. The information furnished in this Item 7.01, Exhibit 99.1, and Exhibit 99.2 shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any Company filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)       Exhibits

⁽¹⁾ Schedules and certain exhibits have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. Hillenbrand hereby undertakes to furnish supplementally copies of any of the omitted schedules and exhibits upon request by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-Looking Statements

Throughout this report, we make a number of “forward-looking statements,” including statements regarding the proposed acquisition of Linxis (the “Proposed Transaction”) and the exploration of potential strategic alternatives for our Batesville business (the “Strategic Process”), that are within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided under these sections. As the words imply, these are statements about future sales, earnings, cash flow, results of operations, uses of cash, and financings, including in all cases with respect to the impact of the Linxis acquisition, share repurchases, ability to meet deleveraging goals, and other measures of financial performance or potential future plans or events, strategies, objectives, beliefs, prospects, assumptions, expectations, and projected costs or savings or transactions of the Company, Linxis, or the combined company following the Proposed Transaction (the “Combined Company”), including, without limitation, with respect to the Strategic Process or any transaction or proposed transaction resulting from the Strategic Process (a “Batesville Transaction”), any or all of which might or might not happen in the future, the anticipated benefits of the Proposed Transaction, including estimated synergies, and the expected timing of completion of the Proposed Transaction, as contrasted with historical information. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable, but by their very nature are subject to a wide range of risks. If our assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks and uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the Company’s expectations and projections.

Words that could indicate that we are making forward-looking statements include the following:

This is not an exhaustive list, but is intended to give you an idea of how we try to identify forward-looking statements. The absence of any of these words, however, does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking.

Here is the key point:  Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events, and actual results or events could differ materially from those set forth in any forward-looking statements. Any number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, could cause our performance to differ significantly from what is described in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: risks related to the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine (referred to herein as the “Ukraine War”) and resulting geopolitical instability and uncertainty, which could have a negative impact on our or Linxis’ ability to sell to, ship products to, collect payments from, and support customers in certain regions, in addition to the potential effect of supply chain disruptions that could adversely affect profitability; the impact of contagious diseases such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the escalation thereof due to variant strains of the virus and the societal, governmental, and individual responses thereto, including supply chain disruption, loss of contracts and/or customers, erosion of some customers’ credit quality, downgrades of the Company’s or Linxis’ credit quality, closure or temporary interruption of the Company’s, Linxis’, or their respective suppliers’ manufacturing facilities, travel, shipping and logistical disruptions, domestic and international general economic conditions, such as inflation, exchange rates and interest rates; loss of human capital or personnel, and general economic calamities; increased costs, poor quality, or unavailability of raw materials or certain outsourced services and supply chain disruptions; increasing competition for highly skilled and talented workers as well as labor shortages; the risk of business disruptions associated with information technology, cyber-attacks, or catastrophic losses affecting infrastructure; risks that the integration of Linxis, Milacron or other acquired businesses disrupts current operations or poses potential difficulties in employee retention or otherwise affects financial or operating results; the ability to recognize the benefits of the Proposed Transaction, the acquisition of Milacron or any other acquisition or disposition, including potential synergies and cost savings or the failure of the Company or any acquired company to achieve its plans and objectives generally; impairment charges to goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets; competition in the industries in which we operate, including on price or from nontraditional sources in the death care industry; impacts of decreases in demand or changes in technological advances, laws, or regulation on the revenues that we derive from the plastics industry; our reliance upon employees, agents, and business partners to comply with laws in many countries and jurisdictions; the impact of incurring significant amounts of indebtedness and any inability of the Company or Linxis to respond to changes in its business or make future desirable acquisitions; the ability of the Company, Linxis, or the Combined Company to comply with financial or other covenants in debt agreements; global market and economic conditions, including those related to the financial markets; our level of international sales and operations; cyclical demand for industrial capital goods; continued fluctuations in mortality rates and increased cremations; the dependence of our business units on relationships with several large customers and providers; competition faced by our Batesville business from non-traditional sources; the impact to the Company’s, Linxis’, or the Combined Company’s effective tax rate of changes in the mix of earnings or tax laws and certain other tax-related matters; involvement in claims, lawsuits and governmental proceedings related to operations; uncertainty in the United States political and regulatory environment or global trade policy; adverse foreign currency fluctuations; labor disruptions; the effect of certain provisions of the Company’s governing documents and Indiana law that could decrease the trading price of the Company’s common stock; the ability of Linxis to favorably complete the works council consultation process and the ability of Linxis and the Company to satisfy the other conditions to the closing of the Proposed Transaction on a timely basis or at all; the occurrence of events that may give rise to a right of one or both of the Company and Linxis to terminate any binding agreements; negative effects of the announcement or the consummation of the Proposed Transaction on the market price of the Company’s common stock or on its or Linxis’ business, financial condition, results of operations and financial performance (including the ability of Linxis to maintain relationships with its customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business); uncertainties as to access to available financing for the Proposed Transaction on a timely basis and on reasonable terms; the impact of the additional indebtedness the Company will incur in connection with the Proposed Transaction; significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities of the Proposed Transaction; the possibility that the anticipated benefits from the Proposed Transaction cannot be realized by the Company in full or at all or may take longer to realize than expected; risks related to diversion of Linxis’ management’s attention from Linxis’ ongoing business operations due to the Proposed Transaction; risks associated with contracts containing consent and/or other provisions that may be triggered by the Proposed Transaction; risks associated with transaction-related litigation; the possibility that costs or difficulties related to the integration of Linxis’ operations with those of the Company will be greater than expected; the ability of Linxis and the Combined Company to retain and hire key personnel; the duration and outcome of the Strategic Process; the possibility that a Batesville Transaction, if any, resulting from the Strategic Process is ultimately not consummated; potential adverse effects of the Strategic Process or announcement of the Strategic Process or results thereof on the market price of the Company’s common stock; potential adverse effects of the Strategic Process or announcement of the Strategic Process or results thereof on the ability of Batesville to develop and maintain relationships with its personnel and customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business or otherwise on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and financial performance; risks related to diversion of Batesville’s management’s attention from Batesville’s ongoing business operations due to the Strategic Process; and the impact of the Strategic Process on the ability of the Company to retain and hire key personnel for the Batesville business.

There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction or any other transaction described above will in fact be consummated in the manner described or at all. Shareholders, potential investors, and other readers are urged to consider these risks and uncertainties in evaluating forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. For a more in-depth discussion of these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, see the discussions under the heading “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of Hillenbrand’s Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on November 17, 2021, and in Part II, Item 1A of Hillenbrand’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on May 9, 2022. The forward-looking information in this report speaks only as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.