The Stanley Works, New Britain, CT, has agreed to sell its CST/berger laser leveling and measuring business, West Lafayette, IN, to Robert Bosch Tool Corp. for $205 million. This operation had 2007 revenues of $80 million (excluding certain European sales of $10 million), primarily in North American construction-related markets.
 
The company has also agreed to buy Sonitrol Corp. from an ownership group comprised of Carlyle Venture Partners, Wachovia Capital Partners and Spire Capital Partners as well as selected members of Sonitrol management for $275 million cash (10x EBITDA).
 
Sonitrol, Berwyn, PA, provides security monitoring services, access control and fire detection systems to commercial customers in North America via two monitoring centers and a national multi-channel distribution network. Sonitrol has revenue of about $110 million.
 
John F. Lundgren, CEO, said: These two transactions are important steps toward advancing our growth strategy and repositioning the company to be less dependent on construction and DIY markets. We continue to be strongly committed to shifting the company’s portfolio into higher-growth, higher-return areas such as electronic security. The addition of Sonitrol, with its iconic brand and strong franchisee and direct sales network, expands the scale of our existing North American monitoring operation, increases our recurring revenue and adds breadth and depth to our electronic security product offering.”
 
In addition to the above two transactions, Stanley Works plans to exit small, non-strategic product lines during the remainder of the year with revenues of $60 million.