The ASSA ABLOY Method
His approach was not to walk in and lay down the law but to listen and point out that everyone had something to contribute.
The gentle conqueror
Carl-Henric Svanberg built ASSA ABLOY through 100 acquisitions between 1994 and 2003. Financial circles called him the “gentle conqueror” — he never attempted a hostile takeover.
Georg Ehrnrooth, board member: “Each time, Carl-Henric’s approach was not to walk in and lay down the law but to listen and point out that everyone had something to contribute. He met the management teams in the companies we bought up, told them about his own career, listened to them and asked what their achievements had been, what ASSA ABLOY could learn from them.”
The philosophy came from his years in scout leadership. Svanberg discovered that authority alone was neither sufficient nor effective — employing the authority of command meant impoverished ideas and failed communication. The best way to lead was to influence through persuasion and create a common vision.
Under Svanberg, sales grew from SEK 3 billion to SEK 27 billion. Profit grew from SEK 50 million to SEK 2 billion. The employee count went from 4,700 to 28,750.
Buy local leaders
The lock business is inherently local. Strong local brands, local dimensions, local regulations. Adopting a different approach to enter these markets would have been difficult.
Åke Sund, EVP of M&A: “The first part of ASSA ABLOY’s strategy became to buy local leaders. That is how we became the leading lock group in the world.”
The three-fold acquisition strategy:
Geographic markets. Buy the #1 or #2 player in local markets. The lock industry’s fragmentation — thousands of local champions, no global standard — created opportunity for patient consolidation.
Complementary products. Add adjacent products to offer complete door opening solutions. Once you have the local leader in locks, add handles, hinges, access control, automatic doors.
Technology. Acquire cutting-edge capabilities in identification, electronics, smart access. The fastest-growing segment is now electronic products.
Nearly 400 acquisitions since 1994, revenue from SEK 3 billion to SEK 150 billion, employees from 4,700 to 61,000.
Mergers among equals
ASSA ABLOY integrates differently from both Danaher (systematic transformation) and Lifco (no integration). They call it “mergers among equals.”
Sund: “We tend to see all acquisitions as mergers. The preferred approach is to see these types of deals as mergers among equals. That is part of our success.”
In practice: acquired companies maintain operational autonomy through five divisions (EMEIA, Americas, Asia Pacific, Global Technologies, Entrance Systems). Each division handles its own acquisitions within a corporate governance framework. The centre promotes cross-fertilisation and knowledge sharing rather than imposing uniform processes.
Svanberg advocated benchmarking as a core discipline — sharing best practices across the portfolio without mandating adoption. Managers are given freedom to run their own businesses and set their own goals. Compensation is linked to business unit performance.
Many of ASSA ABLOY’s senior leaders came through acquisitions. The openness is deliberate: the company develops by constantly searching for new customer needs, technologies, markets, and people with new ideas.
100 days
One element is non-negotiable: the 100-day integration rule. Every new acquisition must be onboarded within 100 days. A dedicated integration manager is assigned to each deal.
Sigrid Petersson, Global Head of Cash Management: “It’s really important to invest time with the company that has been acquired and with their teams. If you start at the beginning to really educate on how you do business and how you do treasury, if you really try to explain why and how it’s part of the big picture, you really get them on board and to own it.”
The framework provides structure without dictating operations. Acquired companies learn the ASSA ABLOY way of doing treasury, reporting, and governance. They keep their brands, their local market knowledge, their customer relationships.
Over 250 brands in the portfolio — Yale, Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Chubb, Fichet-Bauche. Each maintains its identity while contributing to a coordinated whole.
The focused consolidator
ASSA ABLOY is Swedish but not in the Lifco mould. The decentralised Swedish compounders build portfolios of autonomous businesses across unrelated industries. ASSA ABLOY builds integrated industry leadership in one domain.
The difference matters. Lifco, Indutrade, and Lagercrantz bet on the operating model — decentralisation works regardless of sector. ASSA ABLOY bets on the industry — access solutions reward consolidation, and local market leadership compounds.
Both approaches work. ASSA ABLOY’s 9% sales CAGR and 10% EBIT CAGR over two decades sits comfortably alongside the Swedish compounders. The 2030 target is SEK 250 billion in sales — roughly double today’s figure.
Three CEOs have maintained the acquisition culture: Svanberg, then Johan Molin (80+ acquisitions from 2005-2018), now Nico Delvaux. The strategy house has remained consistent for 30 years.
Svanberg: “In the end, it all comes down to people. How do you unlock everyone’s energy, so that they come to work with a spring in their step — because they want to make a difference, because they truly care about what they do?”
The gentle conqueror answered his own question. Listen first. Make everyone feel they contribute. Then compound.
Connects to Library: Process Power · Scale Economies · Switching Costs
See also: The Lifco Way — The decentralised Swedish alternative: sector-agnostic, no integration. The Danaher System — Systematic integration through DBS, more transformation-focused.