SoftBank considers $18 billion deal for Allied Universal

Anabelle Colaco
21 Oct 2026, 00:46 GMT+10

SoftBank Group is considering acquiring U.S. security services provider Allied Universal in a deal that could value the company at about US$18 billion
Allied Universal provides security staffing for businesses, venues and major events and has a growing presence in the data center industry, supporting the development and operation of facilities
With Allied Universal, SoftBank would eventually look to replace some staff with robots for certain security tasks, although deploying humanoid security workers is likely to take longer

TOKYO, Japan: SoftBank Group is considering acquiring U.S. security services provider Allied Universal in a deal that could value the company at about US$18 billion, according to a source 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 the development and operation of facilities.

A potential acquisition would complement SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son's growing focus on artificial intelligence as he explores using AI-powered robots across industries and seeks to strengthen the infrastructure supporting the technology.

With Allied Universal, SoftBank would eventually look to replace some staff with robots for certain security tasks, although deploying humanoid security workers is likely to take longer.

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

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

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

The potential deal would build 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.