SoftBank weighs $18 billion acquisition of Allied Universal, Bloomberg News reports
SoftBank weighs $18 billion acquisition of Allied Universal, Bloomberg News reports 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, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
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, according to the report
With Allied, SoftBank would look to eventually replace some staff with robots to handle security work, the report said, citing one of the people
The application of humanoid-like security workers will likely take more time, it reported citing another person
Deliberations are preliminary and no final decisions have been made, including on the potential price, the report said
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
In October, SoftBank completed the final phase of its planned $30 billion investment in OpenAI, deepening its commitment to the AI company
(Reporting by Apratim Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
((Apratim.Sarkar@thomsonreuters.com;))
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SoftBank weighs $18 billion acquisition of Allied Universal, source says (updated)