Tomkins agrees to £3bn PE take-private

Pinafore, an acquisition vehicle set up by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Canadian private equity firm Onex Corporation, made an offer of 325 pence per share.

The price represents a premium of approximately 41 per cent to the closing price of 230.30 pence per Tomkins share on 16 July, the last trading day before Pinafore’s offer was publicised.  

Standard Life, the life assurance and pension firm that has a nearly three per cent holding in Tomkins, previously blasted the bid, saying that it undervalues the engineering group.

David Cumming, head of UK equities at Standard Life Investment, said in statement, "We feel that at this price the proposed bid materially undervalues the group and its prospects. Should the board choose to recommend a bid at this level we will vote against the transaction as we do not believe that it is in the best interests of shareholders."

Seth Mersky, chairman of Pinafore, rebutted Standard Life’s position on the purchase, claiming the deal represents a “great reward” for Tomkins' shareholders.

The company has said that despite an encouraging first half to the year, in which sales volumes increased by 23 per cent year on year and adjusted operating profit is expected to have reached $290m (€223.8m), it is preparing itself for a lag for the rest of the year.

Tomkins manufactures a variety of products for the industrial, automotive and building products markets across North America, Europe, Asia and the rest of the world and employs more than 25,000 staff.

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