Illinois Tool Works Inc. expects business acquisitions in 2011 to bring the company $800 million to $1 billion a year in additional revenue, nearly double the amount from 2010.

Chairman and Chief Executive David Speer said the company’s pipeline of potential acquisitions steadily improved throughout 2010, allowing the company to step up its acquisition goal for 2011. Last year, the company bought 24 companies with combined annual revenues of $530 million. Prior to 2009, ITW had been averaging $1 billion a year in acquired revenue. But the economic recession soured the market for acquisitions. Get the full story »