Tomkins in £2.9bn takeover talks

British industrial firm Tomkins is in talks over a potential £2.9bn (€3.43bn) takeover, it was revealed today.

The group said it had received an approach worth 325p-per-share from a consortium comprising US private equity firm Onex Corporation and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Tomkins – which started life in 1925 as a small British manufacturer of buckles and fasteners – has opened its books to the suitor and confirmed due diligence was now at “an advanced stage”.