In an attempt to move forward on its acquisition of the Hardware and Home Improvement (HHI) division of Spectrum Brands, ASSA ABLOY has proposed the sale of its Emtek and Smart Residential business unit companies, August Home and Yale Home.
The proposal was made Oct. 19 in ASSA ABLOY’s formal response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) complaint to block the proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of HHI.
ASSA ABLOY and Spectrum Brands are contesting the effort by the DOJ to oppose the proposed transaction. ASSA ABLOY owns the Yale, August Home and Emtek brands. HHI owns the Kwikset and Baldwin brands.
In its complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department charges that the merger would risk higher prices, lower quality, reduced innovation and poorer service in at least two types of residential door hardware: premium mechanical door hardware and smart locks.
“Competition between these two companies, which are two of the three largest companies in an already concentrated industry, has benefited American consumers in the form of lower prices and better quality,” Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in a statement. “That important competition would be extinguished if this merger were allowed to proceed to the detriment of Americans.”
To fully resolve all the alleged competitive concerns surrounding the acquisition of HHI, ASSA ABLOY has initiated the sales of Emtek, August Home and Yale in the United States and Canada. These businesses represented sales of about $350 million in 2021.
“We believe strongly in the acquisition of HHI as we together will increase investments in the residential segments and strengthen our combined product offering for the benefit of consumers. The proposed remedies eliminate all competitive concerns alleged by the DOJ,” says Nico Delvaux, president and CEO of ASSA ABLOY.
