Tomkins plc
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| Public limited company | |
| Industry | Engineering |
| Founded | 1925 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
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Key people
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David Newlands (Chairman) James Nicol (CEO) |
| Revenue | US$4,180.1 million (2009) |
| US$84.7 million (2009) | |
| US$(15.6) million (2009) | |
| Owner | Onex and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board |
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Number of employees
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circa 30,000 |
| Website | www |
Tomkins plc is a multinational engineering company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its largest division is Industrial & Automotive, which is a major supplier of automotive components and trades primarily under the Dexter Axle, Gates, Ideal Clamp Products and Schrader Electronics brands. Its Building Products division is a major supplier of air distribution products and systems and bath products and trades primarily under the Aquatic brand. In July 2010 Tomkins was acquired by a Canadian consortium of private equity firm Onex Corporation and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. In July 2014, The Blackstone Group, 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.
Tomkins was founded in 1925 as F.H. Tomkins Buckle Company, a small manufacturer of buckles and fasteners. It was first listed on the in 1956.
In 1983, ex-Lord Hanson employee Greg Hutchings acquired a 22.9% stake in the company, and subsequently was appointed Chief Executive. Hutchings expanded Tomkins in a classical conglomerate form through leveraged buyouts, 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 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 Smith & Wesson (firearms).
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Wikipedia