ASSA ABLOY announced that it received clearance from the Mexican competition authority to acquire Spectrum Brands’ Hardware and Home Improvement division.

Following the clearance from the Mexican competition authority, the HHI acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions.

In September 2021, ASSA ABLOY announced it had signed an agreement to acquire the HHI division of Spectrum Brands. A week later, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it would seek to block the proposed acquisition of HHI. In December, the company announced that it had entered into binding agreements with Fortune Brands to sell Emtek and the Smart Residential business in the U.S. and Canada in a bid to fully resolve all the alleged competitive concerns surrounding the proposed acquisition of HHI.

Last month, the company reached a settlement agreement with the DOJ regarding the acquisition. Under the Clayton Act and the Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act (APPA), proposed Final Judgments, or “consent decrees,” are subject to a 60-day comment period, after which the court determines whether a Final Judgment is in the public interest. The deal is expected to close by the end of June 2023.