Discontinued Operations

9 Months Ended

May 31, 2011

Discontinued Operations [Abstract]

Discontinued Operations

2. Discontinued Operations

          Acuity Brands completed the spin-off of its specialty products business (the “Spin-off”), Zep Inc. (“Zep”) on October 31, 2007, by distributing all of the shares of Zep common stock, par value $0.01 per share, to the Company’s stockholders of record as of October 17, 2007. As a result of the Spin-off, the Company’s financial statements have been prepared with the results of operations and cash flows of the specialty products business presented as discontinued operations.

          In conjunction with the Spin-off, Acuity Brands and Zep entered into various agreements that address the allocation of assets and liabilities between them and that define their relationship after the separation, including a distribution agreement, a tax disaffiliation agreement, an employee benefits agreement, and a transition services agreement. During the second quarter of fiscal 2010, income from discontinued operations was recognized in the amount of $0.6 related to the revision of estimates of certain legal reserves established at the time of the Spin-off. As with the original reserve, the income from discontinued operations had no income tax effect.