KKR
24.5.2022 14:02:15 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Bettcher Industries (“Bettcher”), a leading manufacturer of protein processing equipment, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which it will acquire Frontmatec (the “Company”) from Axcel. KKR, which acquired Bettcher in December 2021, will invest additional capital from its North American private equity strategy to support the transaction.
Headquartered in Kolding, Denmark, Frontmatec is a global manufacturer of end-to-end automated solutions for pork and beef processing, with world-class robotics and vision system capabilities. The Company serves as a full line supplier of processing equipment, parts and services, instruments, and software, which help solve key issues around food and worker safety.
The transaction represents an important step in Bettcher and KKR’s strategy to build a scaled food processing automation platform serving food processing plants globally. In addition to delivering leading automation capabilities, the purchase of Frontmatec deepens Bettcher’s footprint in Europe. Frontmatec’s executive team led by Allan Kristensen is expected to remain in place to continue to grow the business after the transaction closes.
“Frontmatec has built a leading brand and position by enabling customers to continuously improve the productivity and safety of their workforce. The Company’s capabilities in automation and its global presence make it a superb fit for the Bettcher platform, and we are excited to work with Allan and his team to extend our collective innovation leadership,” said Tim Swanson, CEO of Bettcher.
“We are excited to join forces with Bettcher and believe this strategic transaction will enable Frontmatec to continue expanding our suite of solutions which are helping to meet the accelerating global demand for improved yield in production and food quality. I would like to thank the Axcel team, who have been instrumental in developing Frontmatec into the leading provider it is today, as well as our employees for their tremendous efforts. We are proud of everything we have accomplished and are focused on the exciting opportunity to continue growing our business together with Bettcher and KKR,” said Allan Kristensen, CEO of Frontmatec.
Bettcher will continue to add other world-leading food processing capabilities, while maintaining Frontmatec’s strong culture and values. As part of the transaction, KKR will extend its employee engagement program to all employees at Frontmatec. The strategy’s cornerstone is to allow all employees to take part in the benefits of ownership by granting them the opportunity to participate in any equity return alongside KKR.
“We have great admiration for the Frontmatec team, and view the Company as a highly compelling strategic addition to Bettcher as we pursue our long-term strategy of building a scaled global platform serving customers in the food and food processing industry. We are very excited about the growth that lies ahead, and look forward to continuing to build on the platform from here,” said Dan Daniel, Chairman of Bettcher.
“We are thrilled to welcome Frontmatec and its automated food processing capabilities into the Bettcher and KKR family, and thank Axcel for creating an industry leader in automated protein processing. Importantly, we look forward to incorporating Frontmatec and making all employees owners in the combined business as the latest example of our participation in the shared ownership movement,” said Josh Weisenbeck and Brandon Brahm, Partners in KKR’s Industrials investment team.
The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2022 subject to customary regulatory approvals. Further terms were not disclosed.
Nordea, Kirkland & Ellis and Moalem Weitemeyer served as advisors to Bettcher and KKR.
About Frontmatec
Headquartered in Kolding, Denmark, Frontmatec is a leader in end-to-end automated solutions for the red meat processing industry. Frontmatec serves more than 1,500 customers worldwide through its global manufacturing and service footprint, with key relationships with many of the largest red meat processors. Frontmatec was formed in 2016 through the consolidation of five automation platforms and employs over 1,300 people today. Visit Frontmatec at: https://www.frontmatec.com/en
About Bettcher Industries
Headquartered in Birmingham, Ohio, Bettcher is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative equipment in the food processing and medical device industries, majority-owned by KKR. The Bettcher portfolio includes the following: Bettcher, a designer and manufacturer of handheld trimmers, tools, and cutting consumables for all protein applications; Cantrell-Gainco, a manufacturer of processing equipment and yield enhancement and yield tracking systems for various protein operations; ICB Greenline, an aftermarket replacement parts and services company focused on poultry processing; and, Exsurco Medical, a leading-edge medical device company that provides innovative products and services to transform surgical grafting, debridement, and recovery outcomes for patients with burn and trauma wounds. Visit Bettcher at: https://www.bettcher.com/en
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220524005699/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Sitetracker and 5x5 Break the Price Barrier for Portfolio-Scale Digital Twins and Asset Intelligence23.9.2026 12:11:00 CEST | Press release
Sitetracker and 5x5 partner to bring synthetic digital twins technology to the Wireless Infrastructure market. Sitetracker and 5x5 Technologies today introduced a data-to-twin workflow that gives wireless infrastructure owners a practical, affordable path to digitizing an entire tower portfolio. The Sitetracker platform now integrates 5x5 Synthetic Twin technology, providing scalable asset intelligence at a price up to 85% less than traditional site modeling methods. Synthetic Twins leverage Sitetracker’s leading tower portfolio and operational data to create interactive 3D models of towers, rooftops and ground compounds providing tower operators with a baseline of their portfolio that can be progressively enriched as the site conditions evolve. This data when combined with Scout, Sitetracker’s Agentic AI platform, opens the opportunity for digitized workflows and unparalleled understanding of the asset portfolio. Why it matters AI-driven data demand, more spectrum deployments, and den
LTM Launches BlueVerse™ SovereignSphere™ Models to Help Enterprises Own Their AI Advantage23.9.2026 12:05:00 CEST | Press release
LTM, the Business Creativity partner to the world's largest enterprises, today launched BlueVerse™ SovereignSphere™ Models, enabling organizations to transform proprietary knowledge into AI capabilities that understand their business context and operate within their governance boundaries. BlueVerse SovereignSphere Models enable enterprises to overcome critical AI adoption challenges by lowering infrastructure costs, simplifying governance, and reducing reliance on generic AI models. It helps organizations build AI that understands their business, language, workflows, policies, and domain expertise as a native capability. Enterprises retain ownership of their models and intellectual property while benefiting from more predictable AI economics and reduced dependence on token-heavy architectures. The key offerings in the portfolio include:Sales and Marketing Pro – Delivers CRM architect-level expertise across solution design, code generation, troubleshooting, and root-cause analysis, help
Cox Capital Announces Tender Offers for Class I Shares of Blackstone Private Credit Fund and HPS Corporate Lending Fund23.9.2026 12:00:00 CEST | Press release
Offers provide a secondary cash-liquidity option for BCRED and HLEND shareholders following oversubscribed issuer repurchase programs Cox Capital Partners (“Cox Capital”) announced today that Cox Capital Retail Secondaries Fund I, LP (the “Purchaser”), a private investment fund managed by an affiliate of Cox Capital, has commenced two separate cash tender offers to purchase Class I shares of Blackstone Private Credit Fund (“BCRED”) and HPS Corporate Lending Fund (“HLEND”). Both funds recently reported that their Q3 2026 repurchase programs were substantially oversubscribed. BCRED and HLEND received repurchase requests representing an estimated 10% and 11.5%, respectively, of shares outstanding. The funds’ established frameworks generally target quarterly repurchases of 5% of shares outstanding, although the amount may be increased at the discretion of the applicable fund. Cox Capital developed its secondary program to provide shareholders with an additional path to liquidity when a fun
Three Weeks into France E-Invoicing Mandate: Sovos Hits Unparalleled Production Scale23.9.2026 10:00:00 CEST | Press release
With 170,000 registrants - 78x the registered network reach of the nearest tax compliance competitor - Sovos demonstrates unmatched production scale across direct clients and every software platform embedding its Compliance Network Sovos, the agentic tax compliance company, today announced that it has surpassed 170,000 organizations registrants across the Sovos-powered network – including both Sovos-branded and partner-branded approved service providers - using Sovos technology in France. By comparison, the nearest competitors registered fewer than 2,200 organizations each. The milestone represents a significant lead in production-grade e-invoicing, with Sovos handling transaction volumes that are many multiples higher than any other tax compliance vendor operating in France. "France represents the most complex continuous transaction controls mandate the world has seen, and we entered production on day one with our Global 2000 clients fully live," said Kevin Akeroyd, CEO, Sovos. "We ac
Thredd Partners with Velocity to Expand Global Payments Platform, Offer Stablecoin-Powered Money Movement23.9.2026 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
New capabilities will connect cards, fiat payment rails, and stablecoins through one integrated platform experience Thredd, the AI-first issuer processing platform, today announced the expansion of its payments platform to include stablecoin-powered money movement capabilities, through a partnership with Velocity, the stablecoin treasury and settlement platform bringing enterprises onchain. The initial rollout of these capabilities will focus on supporting B2B and B2B2B applications, including stablecoin-backed card programmes, cross-border payouts, global treasury flows and on-chain settlement. Thredd clients will now be able to convert between fiat currencies and supported stablecoins, send funds on-chain or through connected fiat rails, and use stablecoins for funding, payouts and settlement. “Stablecoins are rapidly becoming an important part of global payments infrastructure, but clients should not have to rebuild their payments stack to take advantage of them,” said Jim McCarthy,
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom