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Thrive Holdings and ADT, the infrastructure behind the smart home security business, reach an agreement for Thrive Holdings to acquire the latter at an equity value of approximately $7.6 billion

On October 29, 2026, ADT Inc. and Thrive Holdings announced that they had signed a definitive agreement under which Thrive Holdings will acquire ADT for all cash. The agreement values ADT’s equity at approximately $7.6 billion ($10.00 per share) and its enterprise value at approximately $15.3 billion. ADT’s board unanimously approved the agreement. The per-share price represents a 45.6% premium to ADT’s unaffected closing price of $6.87 on October 27, 2026, and a 52.1% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price through that date.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by ADT shareholders and U.S. antitrust approval. The transaction has no financing condition. The financing commitment is being provided entirely by funds managed by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, Inc. Under the agreement, ADT may solicit proposals from third parties until 11:59 p.m. New York time on November 28, 2026 (an initial 30-day “go-shop” period, with a possible 10-day extension for certain bidders), and has the right to terminate the original agreement under the terms of the agreement in order to accept a superior proposal. Before the transaction closes, ADT will continue to operate independently; after closing, it will become a private company and its common stock will cease trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

After the transaction closes, ADT will become the foundation of Thrive Holdings’ smart home security business. Thrive Holdings is a permanent capital holding company spun out of Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, focused on long-term ownership and on driving the growth of existing businesses through investment in technology and engineering capabilities. It currently has more than 75 companies under its umbrella, covering accounting, IT services, and the built environment. Thrive Holdings plans to support ADT’s management team and drive long-term growth through continued investment in people, products, and services, and its engineering team will work with ADT specialists to look for opportunities to enhance products and services with technology. ADT’s data and privacy policies will remain unchanged, and no new data sharing will occur without customer permission.

Original sources:

  1. Title: ADT to be Acquired by Thrive Holdings in $15.3 Billion Transaction Publisher: ADT Publication date: 2026-10-29 URL: https://newsroom.adt.com/financial/adt-to-be-acquired-by-thrive-holdings-in-15-3-billion-transaction Source type: official announcement Verification status: This time, the relevant full-text passages were actually read, verification date 2026-10-29 Supporting content: transaction terms, equity value of approximately $7.6 billion and enterprise value of $15.3 billion, $10.00 per share, premium percentages, board approval, expected closing in the first quarter of 2027 and approval conditions, Apollo-provided financing, go-shop arrangement, privatization and smart home security business positioning, and unchanged data privacy policy

  2. Title: Thrive Holdings x ADT Publisher: Thrive Holdings Publication date: 2026-10-29 URL: https://www.thriveholdings.com/thrive-holdings-adt Source type: official announcement Verification status: The page content was actually read this time, verification date 2026-10-29 Supporting content: announcement of the acquisition agreement, direction of long-term ownership and technology investment, more than 75 companies, and potential areas of technical application (reducing false alarms, improving notifications, and identifying device issues earlier)

  3. Title: OpenAI takes an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings to accelerate enterprise AI adoption Publisher: OpenAI Publication date: 2025-12-01 URL: https://openai.com/index/thrive-holdings/ Source type: official announcement Verification status: The page content was actually read this time, verification date 2026-10-29; this does not prove that this ADT transaction has been completed or that specific products have been launched Supporting content: OpenAI’s relationship with Thrive Holdings and OpenAI’s equity stake, and the arrangement to embed research, product, and engineering teams (historical background)

ABAB AI Insight

Joshua Kushner founded Thrive Capital in 2009, and the firm is one of OpenAI’s important investors. In 2025, Kushner spun Thrive Holdings out of Thrive Capital and positioned it as a permanent capital vehicle to acquire and hold traditional service companies such as accounting and IT services for the long term, then transform their operations through in-house engineering teams and external technology partnerships. In December 2025, OpenAI announced that it had received an equity stake in Thrive Holdings (not a cash investment) and arranged for research, product, and engineering personnel to enter its portfolio companies to promote the application of AI in specific business processes. As of the time the transaction was announced, Thrive Holdings held more than 75 companies.

The funding path for this transaction is that funds managed by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management provide the financing commitment alone to support Thrive Holdings’ all-cash acquisition of ADT equity. Thrive Holdings obtains control of ADT and its nationwide installation/service network and customer base, while ADT obtains long-term capital and engineering support. After closing, ADT will serve as the foundation platform for Thrive Holdings’ smart home security business. Thrive Holdings’ existing cooperation with OpenAI means that its models and personnel may be used for subsequent product transformation, but the announcement did not disclose a specific product timetable or investment amount.

For comparison, Apollo’s own historical involvement with ADT can be noted. In 2016, Apollo privatized ADT at an equity value of approximately $7.0 billion (enterprise value of approximately $15.0 billion) and merged it with assets it already owned, such as Protection 1; it relisted the company in 2018. This time, Apollo shifts to the role of financier rather than controlling shareholder, while buyer Thrive Holdings emphasizes long-term ownership and technological transformation rather than the exit orientation of traditional private equity. The enterprise value figures in the two transactions are similar, but the equity structure, expected holding period, and technology role are different.

This arrangement changes ADT’s ownership structure and capital source: from public-market shareholders to Thrive Holdings’ long-term control, with financing provided by Apollo. Thrive Holdings obtains a security platform with an existing nationwide network and customer relationships, and can extend the “embedded engineering team + AI transformation” path it has already tested in accounting and IT services to the physical security business. The key things to watch are the actual degree of integration between Thrive’s engineering team and ADT’s operating team after closing, and whether there are verifiable changes in false alarm rates or response efficiency.

ABAB News · Laws of cognition

  1. A permanent capital vehicle trades long-term ownership for engineering transformation rights over traditional service companies, rather than relying on a quick exit.

  2. Once the financing party and the controlling party are separated, the source of capital no longer automatically determines the technology transformation path.

  3. An AI partner gains real business-process data through equity ownership and embedded personnel, while the company receives model and engineering support.