SoftBank weighs $23.1b acquisition of Allied Universal, source says

SoftBank Group is considering an acquisition of Allied Universal in a deal that could value the US security services provider at about US$18 billion (S$23.1 billion), a source familiar with the matter said on Friday (Oct 16).

Allied Universal provides security staffing for businesses, venues and major events, and has a growing presence in the data centre industry, supporting both development and operation of facilities.

The potential acquisition would complement SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son's increasing focus on AI, as he is exploring the use of AI-powered robots across industries, and looking to strengthen the infrastructure needed to support the technology.

With Allied, SoftBank would look to eventually replace some staff with robots for certain security tasks, though the deployment of humanoid security workers is likely to take longer.

Deliberations are preliminary and no final decisions have been made, including on the potential price, Bloomberg News first reported the news.

SoftBank declined to comment on the report, while Allied Universal did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

SoftBank is widely known for making large technology investments through its Vision Fund. It was an early investor in Alibaba, owns a majority stake in Arm, and was a major backer of the office-sharing startup WeWork.

The deal builds on SoftBank's broader push into robotics and automation, following its agreement last year to acquire Swiss engineering group ABB's robotics business for US$5.4 billion.

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