Swedish access firm Assa Abloy has acquired Bird Home Automation, a German manufacturer of IP door intercoms for single and multi-family buildings.

Bird’s products, marketed under the trademark DoorBird, are for indoor station or smartphone control.

“I look forward to welcoming DoorBird and their employees into the Assa Abloy group,” said Nico Delvaux, CEO of Assa Abloy. “DoorBird is a strategic technological addition to the Assa Abloy group and will reinforce our offering with IP door intercom and provide complementary growth opportunities.”

Neil Vann, executive vice president of Assa Abloy, added: “I am delighted to welcome the DoorBird team to the EMEIA division. This acquisition supports our efforts to accelerate our growth in the smart residential segment and continue our journey as a leader in home security. DoorBird has built a successful and attractive product and service offering, that is highly respected in the markets they serve, and I look forward to working with them on their evolution within the Assa Abloy family.”

DoorBird was established in 2014 and has some 110 employees. The main office is in Berlin, Germany, and it has sales offices in California and Florida. Sales for 2021 amounted to about €21m with a strong EBIT margin. The acquisition will be accretive to EPS from the start.

“Having founded DoorBird in 2014 and continuously developed it since then, we have had an incredible journey and built a very successful business,” said Sascha Keller, CEO of Bird Home Automation. “To continue to grow and scale the company, we concluded that it was time to find a new owner to take the company forward and help it thrive in the years to come. Assa Abloy emerged as the best candidate to acquire DoorBird. They bring a wealth of technology, resources and capabilities to support the continued success of our business.”

Assa Abloy operates worldwide with 51,000 employees and sales of SEK95bn. The group specialises in areas such as efficient door openings, trusted identities and entrance automation. Its innovations enable safe, secure and convenient access to physical and digital places.

• Assa Abloy has filed its response to the US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) complaint to block the proposed acquisition of the HHI hardware and home improvement division of Spectrum Brands.

In September last year, Assa Abloy signed an agreement to acquire HHI for a purchase price of MUSD4300. Last month, the DoJ announced it would seek to block the proposed acquisition. Assa Abloy and Spectrum Brands are contesting in court the effort by the DoJ to oppose the proposed transaction.

“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,” said Delvaux. “The proposed remedies eliminate all competitive concerns alleged by the DoJ.”