SoftBank weighs $18 billion acquisition of Allied Universal, source says

By Reuters News

By Milana Vinn

Oct 16 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group 9984.T is considering an acquisition of Allied Universal in a deal that could value the US security services provider at about $18 billion, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

  • Allied Universal provides security staffing for businesses, venues and major events, and has a growing presence in the data center 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 $5.4 billion

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