LONDON — Tomkins plc has sold Stant Corp. to H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a U.S.-based private equity group.

Stant designs and manufactures fuel system and vapor emission control products for automotive and industrial applications, including fuel caps and capless systems, radiator and oil filler caps, vapor control valves and carbon canisters. In addition, the company manufactures a broad line of cooling system components, including thermostats and related products, through its subsidiary Standard-Thomson Corp. The business is headquartered in Connersville, Ind.

In 2007, Stant had annual sales and gross assets of $179 million and $95 million respectively.

The sale keeps with Tomkins’ current strategy to dispose of non-core operations.

Tomkins CEO James Nicol commented, “We previously announced our intention to dispose of businesses that we identified as non-core to the future development of the Tomkins Group. I am pleased with the deal we have reached for the disposal of Stant Corp. This is the fourth disposal and shows good progress against our stated objective to reshape our portfolio and focus on businesses that address attractive technological areas such as fuel economy and emissions.”