Tomkins plc was a multinational engineering company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. In July 2010 Tomkins was acquired by a Canadian consortium of

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including lev ...

Onex Corporation and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. In July 2014,

The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...

, the world's largest buyout firm, agreed to acquire The Gates Corporation, the largest division of Tomkins plc from Onex Corp. (OCX) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $5.4 billion.

History

Tomkins was founded in 1925 as F.H. Tomkins Buckle Company, a small manufacturer of buckles and fasteners. It was first listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

in 1956. In 1983, ex-

Lord Hanson James Edward, Baron Hanson (20 January 1922 – 1 November 2004) was an English Conservative industrialist who built his businesses through the process of leveraged buyouts through Hanson plc. Career Educated at Elland Grammar School nea ...

employee Greg Hutchings acquired a 22.9% stake in the company, and subsequently was appointed Chief executive.Hutchings forced to quit
/ref> Hutchings expanded Tomkins in a classical conglomerate form through

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money ( leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loa ...

s, and during the 1980s and early 1990s the company embarked on a succession of acquisitions which rapidly grew its revenue, product range and global reach. Major acquisitions included

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...

in 1987, RHM in 1992, the US-based Gates Corporation in 1996, which signalled a move into the industrial and automotive markets, and the Stant and Schrader businesses that further bolstered this division. During this era, Tomkins was regarded as the archetypal multi-industrial conglomerate, with a portfolio of assets that had little or nothing in common with one another – and indeed the media delighted in referring to Tomkins as the "buns-to-guns" company because of its ownership of RHM (baking) and

(firearms). Hutchings was forced to resign from the company in 2000, over a series of false allegations of executive excess. Tomkins sold RHM shortly thereafter, and Smith & Wesson the following year. After an unsolicited approach, in July 2010 Tomkins was acquired by a Canadian consortium of

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firm Onex Corporation and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for £2.9 billion. In November 2012, Tomkins sold their portion of the Building Products group that included: Hart and Cooley, Selkirk and Ruskin to the CPPIB.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Conglomerate companies of the United Kingdom Engineering companies of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies based in London Defunct companies based in London Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Conglomerate companies established in 1925 1925 establishments in England British companies established in 1925 Manufacturing companies established in 1925 Holding companies established in 1925 2010 mergers and acquisitions Onex Corporation Holding companies disestablished in 2010 British companies disestablished in 2010 es:Tomkins