The Stanley Works has entered into an agreement to acquire Sonitrol Corp. from an ownership group that includes Carlyle Venture Partners, Wachovia Capital Partners and Spire Capital Partners, plus selected members of Sonitrol management for $275 million cash. The deal is said to be 10X EBITDA (earnings before interest taxes amortization.)

Berwyn, Pa.-based Sonitrol provides security monitoring services, access control and fire detection systems to commercial customers in North America. The company has two monitoring centers and a national multichannel distribution network.

Sonitrol, estimated to be the 8th largest electronic security company in the United States, brings a strong brand, well documented capabilities in audio-verified monitoring and a substantial national account base to Stanley’s Convergent Security Solutions (Stanley CSS) platform.

“We continue to be strongly committed to shifting the company’s portfolio into higher-growth, higher-return areas such as electronic security,” says John F. Lundgren, The Stanley Works chairman and CEO. “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.”

Sonitrol, with revenue totaling about $110 million, will report into Stanley CSS business, which had 2007 revenues approaching $600 million and includes the former HSM Electronic Protection Services. The boards of directors of Stanley and Sonitrol have approved the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of 2008.

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