Acuity Brands, maker and marketer of lighting products under the names Lithonia and Peerless, has announced it will spin off its specialty products business into a separate publicly traded company.

Acuity has not yet named the new company. The spun-off business will include the company’s cleaning and maintenance products for consumer, commercial and industrial markets. The group had 2006 annual sales of nearly $600 million.

The spinoff will be accomplished through a tax-free distribution to Acuity shareholders in the fall, the company said.

Most recently, Acuity Brands acquired Edison, N.J.-based Mark Architectural Lighting, a high-end manufacturer of lighting products primarily for the Northeast market.

Acuity Brands had net sales of $2.4 billion last year.