Swedish hardware and home improvement giant ASSA ABLOY reached a settlement with U.S. antitrust authorities regarding a proposed $4.3 billion acquisition, the company and federal officials announced Friday.
The Department of Justice last year filed a complaint to block the deal between ASSA ABLOY and Spectrum Brands Holdings for the latter’s hardware and home improvement business, which antitrust regulators said would further consolidate the nation’s $2.4 billion residential door hardware industry.
Under the proposed settlement, ASSA ABLOY would be required to divest its EMTEK and Schaub mechanical door businesses, along with certain residential smart lock operations in North America — including the Yale and August brands — to Fortune Brands Innovations. The conditions, DOJ officials said, would allow Fortune to compete in those segments following ASSA ABLOY’s acquisition of Spectrum’s hardware division.
The settlement also includes intellectual property and commercialization rights, additional residential mechanical lock assets, and other conditions, DOJ authorities said.
ASSA ABLOY said that it now expects the proposed transaction with Spectrum to close by the end of June. Mexico’s competition authority is the only regulatory body that has yet to clear the deal, the company said.
“The settlement with DOJ is an important milestone towards closing of the HHI acquisition, which will empower us to increase investments in the residential segments, realize the synergies of MUSD 100 and strengthen our product offering for the benefit of consumers,” ASSA ABLOY President and CEO Nico Delvaux said in a statement.
