Illinois Tool Works to acquire fasteners business for $450 million

Illinois Tool Works Inc. of Glenview announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire the engineered fasteners and components business from ZF TRW for about $450 million.

EF&C, a global supplier of engineered fastening systems and interior technical components to the Automotive OEM market, generated revenues of approximately $470 million in 2015. Headquartered in Germany, the company operates 13 manufacturing facilities globally and employs approximately 3,500 people.

"The Engineered Fasteners and Components business will be a highly complementary addition to ITW's Automotive OEM segment that will broaden our ability to serve our customers and further expand our long-term organic growth potential," said ITW Executive Vice President Sundaram Nagarajan.

ITW plans to fund a majority of the purchase with non-U.S. cash. Including all acquisition related noncash costs, ITW expects the acquisition to be slightly accretive to earnings per share in the first 12 months and to generate long-term returns on invested capital at or above the company's 20-plus percent target. Pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2016.