Alphabet, Google’s parent company, agreed to acquire the cybersecurity firm Wiz Inc. for US $ 32,000 million in cash, consolidating an agreement less than a year after the initial negotiations failed because the computer startup In the cloud I wanted to remain independent.
Once the agreement is closedWiz will join the Google Cloud business, companies said in a statement on Tuesday.
The agreement, which would be Alphabet’s largest to date, occurs after Wiz will reject an offer of US $ 23,000 million from the Internet searches leader last year after several months of negotiations. At that time, Wiz retired after deciding that it could be more profitable if he was looking for an initial public offer, Opi. Concern about regulatory challenges also influenced the decision.
Wiz’s acquisition provides Google’s cloud computing business for new security products to offer its customerswhile striving to reach Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc., its main rivals in a competitive and rapid growth market. Wiz offers specific cybersecurity tools for the cloud that work on all platforms, Identifying and prioritizing threats in cloud environments, often complex, organizations.
“Wiz products will continue to function and They will be available in all the main clouds, including Amazon Web Services platformsMicrosoft Azure and Oracle Cloud, and will be offered to customers through a variety of partner security solutions, “companies said in the statement.
Founded in 2020, Wiz has grown rapidly thanks to an investor portfolio that includes Greenoaks, Capital Sequoia, Index Ventures, Insight Partners and Cybersarts. The company was valued at US $ 12,000 million in a financing round in May 2024.
The executive director of Wiz, Assaf Rappaport, He described Alphabet’s previous offer as “humiliating”, but at that time he said he enjoyed the idea of turning Wiz In a giant independent of cybersecurity, to compete with companies such as Crowdstrike Holdings Inc. and Palo Alto Networks.
The startup and its investors were also reluctant to accept Google’s offer last year, partly due to concern for a prolonged regulatory approval process, since the US and Europe competence authorities examine the economic influence and market power of the technological industry. While the administration of US President Donald Trump is likely to offer a more permissible negotiation environment, the offer from Alphabet by Wiz could still be scrutiny by antitrust regulators.
Google has already overcome several challenges in that regard, including The accusation of the Department of Justice to abuse its dominant position in online searches. In that case, a federal judge ruled last year that Google maintained an illegal monopoly in searches. The company faces another antitrust case for its digital advertising tools.
