An Agreement to This Effect Had Been Signed on 16 August

The US conglomerate Illinois Tool Works is set to sell a 51% stake in its Decorative Surfaces division to the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). ITW and CD&R announced that an agreement to this effect had been signed on 16 August. ITW is to receive US$1.05bn for this stake, which will consist of a cash payment and the assumption of liabilities. An investment fund managed by CD&R is to provide US$395m for the transaction. The company claimed that it had received financing commitments from the banks Barclays, Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank. Barclays, Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities, Morgan Stanley und UBS Investment Bank advised CD&R on financing issues during the talks with ITW.