May 26, 2025
Feit Electric Acquires USI in $6M Distressed Deal
Lighting firm expands into safety category with alarm technology acquisition
In a move that impacts the smart lighting and home safety market, Feit Electric has acquired the core assets of Universal Security Instruments (NYSE: UUU) for $6 million in cash. The sale delivers the USI brand, 11 U.S. patents, and a half-century legacy of smoke and carbon monoxide alarm brand history into the hands of a privately held lighting maker that’s seemingly hungry for more than just bulbs.
For Feit, it’s a strategic land grab that stretches outside of its well established lamp business. For USI, it’s the end of the line.
A Legacy Sold for $6 Million
Founded in 1969, USI built its name on alarm technologies sold through big-box retailers and independent channels. But by fiscal year 2024, USI’s annual revenue had shrunk to $16.7 million, while accumulating significant net losses in recent quarters. Operating in a crowded space with low margins and limited brand investment, USI had become a relic among more aggressively scaled competitors.
Its board chose an exit: sell the assets and distribute the proceeds. The $6 million sale price, disclosed in SEC filings, represents a modest return for a company with five decades of history — highlighting just how far USI had declined in a competitive, consolidating market.
Feit Electric, meanwhile, emerged with some valuable assets — technology, trademarks, product designs, and shelf space — all while sidestepping the liabilities of a faltering public company. It’s a clean carve-out with a clear goal: expand Feit’s smart home and safety portfolio while strengthening its multi-brand strategy alongside Feit Electric and LIFX.
A Public Shell and a Private Deal
While the headlines may focus on Feit’s move into home safety, the structure of the deal left behind an unusual artifact: USI still exists on paper. Stripped of operations and assets, the company remains listed on the NYSE American under ticker UUU — effectively a corporate ghost.
That ghost attracted the attention of Milton Ault III, a small-cap activist investor with a taste for distressed plays. Ault’s firm, Ault & Company, built a 9.9% stake in USI and objected to the board’s original plan for full liquidation. The two sides reached a compromise: Ault would support the Feit sale in exchange for a 90-day delay in the final dissolution of the company.
During that pause, Ault planned to inject capital into the shell via a convertible note, potentially acquiring up to 19.9% ownership of a future version of USI — reborn, perhaps, in an entirely different business line. But while this public-side maneuver may interest financial observers, it’s speculative. No new direction has been announced, and no pivot is guaranteed.
Feit’s Real Gain
The more tangible story is what Feit Electric gets from all this — and it’s more than patents and products. USI’s alarm technology gives Feit immediate credibility in a new market category. It allows the company to offer retailers a broader set of smart home solutions that blend safety with convenience. And unlike building an alarm business from scratch, Feit now gets to leapfrog ahead, armed with shelf-ready SKUs and a known name.
Above: Fire alarm and carbon monoxide alarm products from USI. Photo courtesy of Feit.
Importantly, Feit plans to operate USI as a standalone brand, modernizing its packaging, expanding marketing, and integrating it into its retail and online networks. For retailers, this could mean a simplified vendor relationship—more SKUs from a single source. For consumers, it’s a quiet shift behind familiar logos, but one that could bring better-integrated safety products into their homes.
At a time when the smart home category is moving from novelty to necessity, Feit’s acquisition of USI isn’t just a footnote. It’s a signal: Feit is wiring itself for the next phase of connected living, where safety is as central as illumination.
