By Bob Tita Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) on Friday agreed to allow a hedge fund with a reputation for agitating for the breakup of industrial conglomerates to have a seat on its board of directors. ITW has been facing increasing pressure from shareholders and analysts alike to divest a significant portion of its business portfolio to generate improved sales growth from the remaining assets. ITW operates more than 800 businesses, generating more than $18 billion a year in revenue. The Glenview, Ill., company said its agreement with Relational Investors LLC gives the fund the an option to appoint David Batchelder, its principal and co-founder, to ITW's board any time after ITW's 2012 annual shareholders meeting and 60 days prior to the compnay's 2013 annual meeting. Relational Investors, which has acquired 2.1% of ITW stock, was the driving force behind the breakup of ITT Corp. (ITT) earlier this year, according to industry analysts and investors. "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Relational," said Chairman and Chief Executive David Speer in a wrttten statement. "Our board and management team remain committed to generating profitable growth and delivering strong returns and we look forward to continuing to enhance value for all of our shareholders." -By Bob Tita, Dow Jones Newswires; 312 750 4129; robert.tita@dowjones.com
