Stanley Black & Decker entered into an agreement to sell its hardware and home improvement group to Spectrum Brands Holdings for $1.4 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter 2013.

With 2011 revenues of $940 million, the group is a provider of residential locksets, residential builder’s hardware and plumbing fixtures marketed under the Kwikset, Weiser, Baldwin, Stanley, National and Pfister brands, among others.

The transaction is expected to generate after-tax cash proceeds of $1.3 billion, according to Stanley.

“The sale is consistent with our strategy of strengthening our position as a diversified industrial company while maintaining the significant upside potential of a housing market recovery through our $5 billion CDIY portfolio,” Stanley president and CEO John F. Lundgren said in a statement.

“While [the group] is a healthy and profitable business, its characteristics are inconsistent with Stanley Black & Decker’s strategic objectives of diversifying our revenue base through further expansion into targeted end markets with higher growth and margin profiles, including emerging markets. Going forward, we remain focused on executing the promising organic growth initiatives we discussed on our July earnings call that should boost the company’s organic growth rate by two to three points annually in the coming years.”