On September 8, 2021, Assa Abloy announced it had signed an agreement to acquire the HHI division of Spectrum Brands for a purchase price of MUSD 4,300 on a cash and debt free basis. On September 15, 2022, the DOJ announced that it will seek to block the proposed acquisition of HHI.

Assa Abloy and Spectrum Brands are vigorously contesting in court the effort by the DOJ to oppose the proposed transaction. On 14th October, Assa Abloy filed its formal response to the District Court of Columbia noting the following:

To fully resolve all the alleged competitive concerns surrounding the acquisition of HHI, Assa Abloy has initiated a sales process of Emtek and the Smart Residential business in the U.S. and Canada. These businesses represented sales of about MUSD 350 in 2021. Residential businesses outside of the U.S. and Canada are not in scope to be divested.

"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.

"The proposed divestitures are dependent on our successful defence against the DOJ regarding the planned acquisition of HHI. Assa Abloy will remain fully committed to these excellent businesses during the process and all the businesses will continue to operate as normal".