SoftBank weighs 18 billion dollar Allied Universal deal

SoftBank Group is considering acquiring US security services provider Allied Universal in a deal that could value it at about 18 billion dollars, Bloomberg News reported, with deliberations still preliminary.

Why it matters: Allied Universal has a growing business guarding data centres, so a deal would extend SoftBank's AI infrastructure push into the physical security layer of the buildout, with robots eventually replacing some guards.

Data as of Friday, October 16, 2026, 17:41 ET. Single sourced to a Reuters report of Bloomberg News reporting, read in full via live browser; deliberations are preliminary and no final decision, including on price, has been made, hence grade C.

SoftBank Group is considering an acquisition of Allied Universal, the US security services provider, in a deal that could value the company at about 18 billion dollars, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Allied Universal supplies security staffing to businesses, venues and major events and has a growing presence in the data centre industry, supporting both the development and the operation of facilities.

The interest fits SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s deepening focus on AI infrastructure and on AI powered robots across industries: with Allied, SoftBank would look to eventually replace some security staff with robots, though humanoid security workers are likely to take more time, the report said. SoftBank declined to comment and Allied Universal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SoftBank weighs 18 billion dollar Allied Universal deal

Sources