Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is in talks to acquire Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz for more than $30 billion, according to a source. This would be Alphabet’s largest potential acquisition to date.
Wiz previously turned down a $23 billion deal from Alphabet last year due to concerns about clearing antitrust hurdles. The company had planned to focus on an initial public offering instead. The negotiations are still ongoing, and neither side has publicly commented on the matter.
A successful acquisition would help Alphabet expand its cloud infrastructure business, which generated over $43 billion in revenue last year. However, antitrust scrutiny is expected if the deal goes ahead, considering the growing concerns about cybersecurity behemoths.
Wiz provides cloud-based cybersecurity solutions using artificial intelligence to identify and remove critical risks on cloud platforms. The company works with major cloud providers like Microsoft and Amazon, as well as notable clients such as Morgan Stanley and DocuSign. With 900 employees across multiple regions, Wiz aims to add 400 workers globally in 2024.
The surge in cybersecurity interest since the global CrowdStrike outage last year has made companies more cautious about protecting their digital infrastructures. Wiz was valued at $12 billion in a private funding round in May 2024.
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Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alphabet-back-deal-buy-cybersecurity-201332838.html