In a move to broaden its security horizons, Telus is buying ADT Canada for about $700 million, the carrier announced Tuesday.
While ADT will continue to do business in the U.S., Telus is set to gain around 500,000 ADT Canada customers and approximately 1,000 team members across the country. The cash deal is slated to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, pending regulatory approval and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Like other service providers, Telus is broadening the scope of its services beyond wireless, voice and video by entering new areas such as IoT-based home security and monitoring. Last year the company launched Telus SmartHome Security and Secure Business to support its strategy of leveraging its PureFibre and wireless networks.
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In the third quarter of 2019, Telus expects to have added more than 12,000 new customers to its security business, bringing the company's total security subscriber base to approximately 100,000 prior to the acquisition of ADT Canada.
In addition to revenue from the sale, Boca Raton, Florida-based ADT will be able to focus its efforts on its U.S. customers going forward.
“Opportunities continue to develop for ADT in the areas of smart home integration, the expansion of the home security business into new demographics and ADT’s growth in commercial security,” said ADT President and CEO Jim DeVries, in a statement. “The sale of our more capital intensive Canadian operations enables us to sharpen our focus on the exciting growth and higher margin opportunities in the U.S., where we can more efficiently invest our time and resources. Importantly, these emerging opportunities are ideal for leveraging the trusted ADT brand as we continue generating strong free cash flow to drive shareholder value over the long term.”