KKR
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
Andersen Consulting udvider sit udbud af humankapital med tilføjelsen af Jakarta Consulting Group16.1.2026 21:09:00 CET | Pressemeddelelse
Andersen Consulting styrker sine kompetencer gennem en samarbejdsaftale med Jakarta Consulting Group (JCG), der er et rådgivningsfirma, som er kendt for sin ekspertise inden for organisatorisk transformation, humankapitalstrategi og ledelsesudvikling. Med hovedsæde i Indonesien har JCG rådgivet virksomheder inden for brancher som ejendom, minedrift og produktion gennem strategisk og kulturel transformation. Med kerneydelser, der omfatter virksomheds- og administrationsrådgivning, hr-rådgivning, vurdering samt virksomheds- og ledelsestræning, er virksomheden kendt for sin evne til at transformere virksomheder og ledere med agilitet, kulturel intelligens og handlingsorienterede løsninger. "Vi har altid ment, at bæredygtig transformation begynder med mennesker – når ledere udvikler sig, følger organisationer med," siger Patricia Susanto, CEO for Jakarta Consulting Group. "Ved at kombinere Andersen Consultings globale perspektiv med vores regionale indsigt kan vi tilbyde kunderne mere helh
ClickHouse Raises $400M Series D Led by Dragoneer to Accelerate Expansion Across Analytics and AI Infrastructure16.1.2026 15:30:00 CET | Press release
Company acquires Langfuse to enter LLM observability and introduces a native Postgres service to unify transactional and analytical workloads ClickHouse, a leader in real-time analytics, data warehousing, observability, and AI/ML, announced today the close of its Series D financing, raising $400 million. The round was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, GIC, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and WCM Investment Management. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260116008883/en/ ClickHouse Co-Founders (left to right): Yury Izrailevsky, Aaron Katz, Alexey Milovidov The financing follows a period of sustained, accelerating growth for ClickHouse. The company now serves more than 3,000 customers on its fully managed service, ClickHouse Cloud, with ARR growing more than 250 percent year over year
Qualcomm Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend16.1.2026 15:00:00 CET | Press release
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.89 per common share, payable on March 26, 2026, to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 5, 2026. About Qualcomm Qualcomm relentlessly innovates to deliver intelligent computing everywhere, helping the world tackle some of its most important challenges. Building on our 40 years of technology leadership in creating era-defining breakthroughs, we deliver a broad portfolio of solutions built with our leading-edge AI, high-performance, low-power computing, and unrivaled connectivity. Our Snapdragon® platforms power extraordinary consumer experiences, and our Qualcomm Dragonwing™ products empower businesses and industries to scale to new heights. Together with our ecosystem partners, we enable next-generation digital transformation to enrich lives, improve businesses, and advance societies. At Qualcomm, we are engineering human progress. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing busine
Nominations open for The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity 2026 by AEON Environmental Foundation and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity16.1.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release
The MIDORI Prize recognizes outstanding individual contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversityThe unique prize contributes to raising public awareness of the essential role biodiversity plays for human well-being and in addressing global challenges such as climate changeThe Award Ceremony and Award Winners Forum will be held on 27 August 2026 in Tokyo, Japan The call for nominations for The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity 2026 is open from 2 February to 31 March 2026. Nominations are invited from members of the public through the AEON Environmental Foundation website at https://www.aeonkankyozaidan.or.jp/en/prize/. The Award Ceremony and Award Winners Forum of the 2026 edition of the Prize will be held on 27 August in Tokyo, Japan. These events will contribute to the global mobilization around COP 17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which will take place in Yerevan (Armenia) under the theme of “Taking action for Nature”. Co-organized by the AEON
Tigo Energy and Weco Certify MLPE-Inverter Compatibility to Simplify PV System Design16.1.2026 06:00:00 CET | Press release
Tigo MLPE technology and hybrid inverters of Italian manufacturer Weco are now certified to work together to enhance design flexibility, system performance, and seamless integration. Tigo Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: TYGO) (“Tigo” or “Company”), a leading provider of intelligent solar and energy software solutions, today announced the Company has signed a certificate of compatibility with Weco S.r.l., documenting the compatibility between Tigo Flex MLPE products and hybrid solar inverters from Weco. The certification covers certain single-phase and three-phase Weco products and members of the Tigo TS4-A and TS4-X product families, when properly designed and installed. Together, these products are designed to deliver high-quality, enhanced value through a system that generates and manages solar energy more efficiently and delivers the features residential energy customers demand. “The compatibility between our inverter solutions and Tigo optimizers represents a significant step forward for the
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