Assa Abloy Proposes Divestments To Settle Competition Concerns Around HHI Acquisition

By Dominic Chopping

STOCKHOLM--Swedish lock maker Assa Abloy AB said Friday that it has agreed to sell certain U.S. and Canadian businesses to settle competition concerns and clear the way for its acquisition of the hardware and home-improvement division of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc.

Assa Abloy's $4.3 billion acquisition of the HHI division was announced in September last year but was blocked by the U.S. Justice Department earlier this year on competition concerns.

Under Friday's deal, Assa Abloy's Emtek and Smart Residential business in the U.S. and Canada would be sold to Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. for $800 million, with the Swedish company hoping the deal will fully resolve all the competitive concerns surrounding its proposed HHI acquisition. These businesses represented sales of about $350 million in 2021, the company said.

"With Fortune Brands our excellent U.S. and Canadian residential businesses will get a good and strong home with an experienced owner," Assa Abloy Chief Executive Nico Delvaux said. "While keeping these residential businesses in the U.S. and Canada would have been preferred, we are confident that we have now fully eliminated all competitive concerns alleged by the DOJ and that the acquisition of HHI is in the long-term interest of our shareholders."

The U.S. and Canadian divestments depend on the successful defense against the DOJ's complaint concerning Assa Abloy's HHI acquisition, and if successful, the company said it expects both deals to close during the second quarter of 2023.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 02, 2022 03:08 ET (08:08 GMT)

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