Mergers and acquisitions

Acquisitions are important to our growth strategy. They strengthen our offerings, accelerate innovation, and take ASSA ABLOY into new geographic markets – enabling us to meet customer demands more rapidly.

With more than 300 acquisitions, since our foundation in 1994, we have established an efficient process for bringing new companies into the Group. This includes reviewing sustainability related issues, sharing the company’s Code of Conduct and way of doing business with prospective companies, and taking steps to help newly acquired companies raise their standards where necessary.

We prefer to acquire sound companies that share our values and business practices, and the successful integration of acquired companies is an essential part of mitigating risks.

Risk management

We have identified the main areas of potential risks , all of which are covered by Legal and Operational due diligence. Our Group-wide sustainability management program – including targets, semi-annual reporting, supply chain management, and Group-wide policies – manages risk in the following areas:

• Significant environmental pollution (soil, ground water, and air)
• Manufacturing processes that use hazardous substances
• Supplier base in low-cost countries
• Poor business ethics, including possible Code of Conduct breaches (labor rights, human rights, corruption, etc.)
• Proper permissions
• Safety

The acquisition process

Our Group-wide acquisition process is divided into four phases: strategy, assessment, implementation, and integration. Each phase has its own predefined activities, decision processes and documentation requirements. Within these phases there are three main due diligence processes that help us decide whether to pursue the acquisition, and what action would need to be taken if the acquisition is completed:

• Financial and tax
• Legal – including employment contracts, payment processes, wages and insurance
• Operational – including the use of chemicals and compliance

An excessive number of red flags in the Legal and Operational due dilligence processes related to sustainability may mean that the acquisition process is abandoned indefinitely. The supplier base of the potential company is also investigated and aims to identify risks and potential synergies.

Read about our latest acquistions