Oct 16 : SoftBank Group 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