dormakaba buys Azure Access, Apollo Security to expand US access
What's the deal? Swiss access-solutions group dormakabaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired the assets of Azure Access Technology and ADME, Inc.Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (Apollo SecurityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →), two US electronic access control specialists. The transaction closed on August 14, 2026. Terms were not disclosed.
Who are the targets? Founded in 2019 and based in Newport Beach, California, Azure Access builds adaptable electronic access control hardware for the US commercial market. Apollo Security supplies access control and integrated security systems. Together they employ about 30 people and serve access control companies worldwide.
What's the endgame? dormakaba wants to move beyond selling engineered solutions as bundles and instead offer open components — locks, readers, and controllers — to OEM partners. Azure Access's open architecture controller platform, built for OEMs and software providers, underpins that shift.
Why now? Chief executive officer Till Reuter said the deal will "accelerate the development of next-generation access control solutions and advance our components strategy in the US." He framed the OEM segment as one dormakaba is "now well positioned to support," calling it "a new go-to-market opportunity."
What changes? Evan Zinger, executive vice president of Azure Access and Apollo Security, said joining dormakaba "eliminates the remaining scale and adoption barriers," giving the platform the resources to accelerate its product roadmap and reach enterprise customers.
The signal: The acquisition points to consolidation in electronic access control, where hardware makers are courting OEM and software partners rather than selling closed, bundled systems. By absorbing a young open-architecture player, dormakaba is betting that flexible, integratable components — not proprietary packages — are where the market is heading.
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