Assa Abloy hopes to acquire more companies this quarter -CEO

By Jeffrey Dastin

NEW HAVEN, THE UNITED STATES, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Assa Abloy , the world's biggest lock maker, said on Tuesday that it hopes to buy "a few" more companies this quarter, on top of the 12 acquisitions it has already announced this year.

The Swedish group, which makes locks under brands such as Yale and Pan Pan, also intends to buy an additional 10 to 15 companies next year, according to its chief executive, Johan Molin.

"We are an acquisition machine," Molin said in an interview.

Assa Abloy will use new purchases to grow areas across its business, including its Global Technologies division, which makes products to secure computer logins and manage access to physical spaces, among others, he said.

Assa Abloy largely will target companies valued between 100 million and 200 million crowns (up to $27.1 million) in emerging markets, which for the Swedish group include South America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, he added.

"There is more opportunity in emerging markets simply because their business is not doing well," Molin said. "That means many companies come up for sale normally."

While Assa Abloy has room to expand in China after a string of acquisitions there, much of its growth in China now will be organic, Molin said.

Assa Abloy, a rival of U.S.-based Stanley Black & Decker and Allegion, reaffirmed its market view on Tuesday in a presentation to investors in New Haven, Connecticut.

Assa Abloy also shed light on its plans for its new biometrics business, which relies on technology such as fingerprinting for security.

In addition to traditional sales, Molin said Assa Abloy may license out the biometrics technology much like a lease, in which customers would pay a fee per usage.

If "we are not in the business, and we have no intention to go there, then we'd be better off by licensing" the technology, he said in the interview, adding that "it's very suitable for banking (and) anything that has a transaction."

Molin said he expects a decision on this by the middle of next year.

Assa Abloy's sales in biometrics have grown 70 percent year over year but still account for a small portion of the company's revenue.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in New Haven, Connecticut; Additional reporting by Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm; Editing by Leslie Adler)