BATESVILLE — A prominent Whitewater Valley company will soon be moving its headquarters out of state.
Batesville-headquartered Hill-Rom Holdings which produces medical equipment such as hospital beds and employs roughly 2,100 people in the area, announced Wednesday that it is purchasing Welch Allyn, a New York-based company which produces medical diagnostic equipment, for $2.1 billion and will move its headquarters from Batesville to Chicago.
The deal, expected to be completed by the end of the fiscal year – Sept. 30 – includes Hill-Rom purchasing Welch Allyn for $1.6 billion in cash, with the remaining being purchased through 8 million new shares of stock to be issued to Welch Allyn’s shareholders, who will then own 13 percent of the new company.
“Hill-Rom is at the forefront of improving the healthcare delivery system, and this compelling combination further positions Hill-Rom to play an increasingly important role in improving patient care. Hill-Rom has aggressively pursued external growth opportunities that leverage Hill-Rom’s existing channel strength to advance our strategic objectives of being a stronger, more diversified organization with the scale, resources and geographic reach to drive value across our business,” stated John J. Greisch, chief executive officer of Hill-Rom, in a statement Wednesday.
“This is a significant step in our transformational journey, and we are confident that our combination with Welch Allyn advances these objectives and will create a stronger platform from which to deliver significant value creation for our shareholders and other stakeholders,” he continued.
The move will allow Hill-Rom to boost annual revenue by roughly $800 million and make it a Fortune 1000 company, but as part of the process the company will move its headquarters to Chicago, leaving its future in Batesville – where it also has a bed-frame plant, two innovation centers and three call centers – up in the air.
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