Every deal, price, and strategic rationale.
Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Click any marker to jump to the deal entry.
Three patterns show up across Illinois Tool Works's deal book — what the team buys, how it pays, and how it integrates. The patterns are the throughline; the individual deals below are the evidence.
ITW is a serial operator, not a serial acquirer — across 1994-2026 the only material acquisitions disclosed in its own filings are Premark (1999), Foilmark (2001), Click Commerce (2006), ZF TRW EF&C (2016) and MTS Test & Simulation (2021). Each is described as a "selective high-quality acquisition" that extends an existing platform rather than entering a new one, with the FY2021 10-K framing M&A as a way to "further expand the long-term organic growth potential of ITW."
ITW bolts targets directly onto an existing segment and runs them through its proprietary 80/20 front-to-back methodology. The ZF TRW EF&C release calls the business "a highly complementary addition to ITW's Automotive OEM segment" with "significant opportunity to enhance the performance of the business through the application of ITW's 80/20 business process," and management framed MTS the same way — complementary to the Instron franchise, with five-to-seven years to reach ITW-caliber margins.
ITW's deal cadence runs alongside heavy divestiture activity — the 2011-2014 sales of the Finishing group (to Graco), Decorative Surfaces/Wilsonart (to CD&R) and Industrial Packaging (to Carlyle for $3.2B) were, in management's words, steps in "refocusing our portfolio in conjunction with our Enterprise Strategy." The MTS purchase was explicitly paired with reactivated divestiture plans, underscoring that ITW adds high-return assets while pruning lower-return ones.
4 acquisitions. Click any row to see the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, executive commentary, and the original SEC filing — the evidence behind the patterns above.
Foilmark was a manufacturer and distributor of hot stamp foils (also referred to as thermal transfer films), holographic security and packaging products, and pad printing machines and supplies. The company operated three reportable segments: thermal transfer film (TTF); holography; and pad printing machines and supplies.
Click Commerce was a provider of on-demand supply and demand chain management software and consulting, hosting and related services that enable users throughout the world to collaborate, in real time, with business partners across an extended enterprise.
The Engineered Fasteners and Components business (EF&C) is a leading global supplier of engineered fastening systems and interior technical components to the Automotive OEM market. 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. In addition, we believe there will be significant opportunity to enhance the performance of the business through the application of ITW's 80/20 business process.
The MTS Test & Simulation business is a leading global supplier of high-performance testing and simulation systems and is highly complementary to ITW's existing Test & Measurement and Electronics segment. ITW acquired the business from Amphenol Corporation on December 1, 2021; its operating results are reported within the Test & Measurement and Electronics segment.
ITW's strategy is to further expand the long-term organic growth potential of ITW through the addition of selective high-quality acquisitions, such as the acquisition of the Test & Simulation business of MTS Systems Corporation ("MTS") from Amphenol Corporation on December 1, 2021. The MTS Test & Simulation business is a leading global supplier of high-performance testing and simulation systems and is highly complementary to the Company's existing Test & Measurement and Electronics segment.
As Scott said, in December, we closed on the MTS acquisition, which we're excited about as it's a great strategic fit for ITW and highly complementary to our Instron business. We acquired Instron in 2006, and today it is a business growing consistently at 6%-7% organically, with operating margins well above the company average.
Michael Larsen, SVP and CFO (Q4 2021 earnings call): “The MTS acquisition added 1.3% [to revenue growth]. ... Specific to MTS, guidance includes full-year revenue of $400 million-$450 million, the expectation that margins are dilutive at the enterprise level by approximately 50 basis points, and finally, consistent with what we've said before, EPS neutral. ... we're really excited about MTS because the business model has never been more powerful than it is today.”
Every figure on this page was synthesized by VectorShift from SEC EDGAR filings — before an analyst would finish their first coffee. Point the same pipeline at private deal documents and the output is the same.
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