Telus is paying $700 million to acquire home security firm ADT, the Vancouver-based telecom provider announced October 1

What happened: Telus is acquiring home security firm ADT in a deal worth $700 million

Why it matters: The Vancouver-based telecom giant has been on a home security acquisition spree as of late

Telus Corp. (TSX:T) is locking down yet another company in its expanding portfolio of home security firms.

The Vancouver-based telecom company revealed Tuesday (October 1) it’s paying about $700 million to acquire ADT Security Services Canada, Inc.

ADT has about 500,000 customers and employs about 1,000 workers, which Telus said it will be “welcoming” to its corporate umbrella.

The deal is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2019 and marks Telus’ second recent purchase of a home security company.

In January 2018 it paid $66.5 million to acquire the Western Canadian assets of AlarmForce and its 39,000 customers in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The company said at the time the AlarmForce acquisition fit into its broader plans for security products and services as part of a line of smart-home technology offerings.

Smart-home or connected-home technology allows residents to remotely control functions such as lighting, heating and security.

For example, lighting controls connected to the internet allow residents to monitor and control their home’s lighting through a mobile application while they’re away.

Telus’ portfolio of smart-home offerings ranges from indoor video monitoring to thermostat controls.

The telecom provider said it expected to add an additional 12,000 customers to its security business for a total of 100,000 subscribers in the third quarter of 2019.

That tally does not include the 500,000 ADT customers that will transfer over to Telus’ purview once the acquisition deal is completed.

torton@biv.com

@reporton