Larson Manufacturing sold to Fortune Brands Home & Security

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DEERFIELD, Ill. – Brookings-based Larson Manufacturing has been sold to Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc., for approximately $660 million, according to a release from the Illinois-based home and security products company.

Fortune Brands has signed an agreement to acquire Larson Manufacturing, and the sale is expected to close before the end of the year.

Larson, which manufactures storm, screen and security doors, also sells related outdoor living products including retractable screens and porch windows.

With revenues of approximately $390 million, Larson has approximately 1,200 employees and is headquartered in Brookings, with manufacturing operations in Brookings, Lake Mills, Iowa, Mocksville, North Carolina, and Senatobia, Mississippi, in addition to central distribution centers in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and Mocksville, North Carolina.

Fortune Brands expects that the Larson management team, associates and locations will remain in place.

Fortune Brands today announced it is also renaming its Doors & Security segment to “Outdoors & Security” to better represent the company’s brands within the segment and to further align with the company’s growth strategy for this segment of Fortune Brands’ portfolio.

“The acquisition of Larson is aligned with our strategic focus on the fast-growing outdoor living space. The Larson suite of products creates a bridge from the inside to the outside of the home, and further strengthens Fortune Brands’ offerings in Doors and Decking,” said Nicholas Fink, Fortune Brands chief executive officer. “Larson is the industry leading brand in a highly attractive category with differentiated positioning and fast-paced, consumer-driven innovation. We can accelerate growth and profitability by deploying our cross-company capabilities to create added value for all of our stakeholders.”

Larson is the leading brand in the approximately $1 billion U.S. storm door market that is largely driven by repair and remodel activity. Its products create a connection to the outdoors, bringing light and air into the home. Larson core products are lower-ticket DIY offerings that have a strong presence in the home center retail channel.

“Together, Larson and Therma-Tru have significant opportunities to drive growth and create value. There is tremendous potential to leverage the innovative products at Larson with our Therma-Tru and Fiberon offerings to provide a total exterior door system and capitalize on outdoor living trends such as multi-season rooms,” Fink added.

“We are excited to join Fortune Brands. Having worked together this past year on innovations that connect homes to the outdoors, we have come to admire the company and its leading brands. We share a commitment to brand excellence, strong channel relationships and a culture of consumer-driven innovation,” said Jeff Rief, chief executive officer and president, Larson. “We are looking forward to driving even more growth by seizing new opportunities together in the door, security and outdoor living markets.”

“In Fortune Brands, we have found a company fully aligned with our commitment to employees, customers, product innovation and our values,” Rief added. “Our strong track record as a leader in storm doors and adjacent products with persistent innovations has allowed us to attract the best potential owner to help take us to the next level of growth. We’re excited about what the future holds being part of a larger company focused on leading brands.”

For Dale Larson, the timing was right to simplify life for himself and the family, according to a statement from the company.

Larson will join Fortune Brands’ newly named Outdoors & Security segment upon closing. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to occur within the next 30 days.