- Google is reportedly planning to buy cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion – its biggest acquisition after 2012 when it purchased Motorola for $12.5 billion.
- However, there’s a huge obstacle standing in the way of this deal – US authorities and antitrust regulation.
- Lately, the regulators have been paying special attention to big US firms so that no one gets too much control over any industry. So this deal will surely get some extra attention.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is allegedly planning to buy cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion. If this deal goes through, it will be the company’s biggest acquisition ever after it purchased Motorola for $12.5 billion in 2012.
We don’t know when this deal will be finalized but according to certain reports, it might happen soon. Also, it’s expected that most of the payments will be made in cash.
However, there’s one major obstacle that stands in the way of the deal – interference from the US regulators. Lately, the US government and the FTC have been investigating large firms to ensure they are not violating the antitrust regulations.
The reason for this is obvious – to prevent any one company from gaining too much power in the industry.
So at a time like this, an acquisition this huge can trigger the authorities. Especially because it looks like Google is making this acquisition to strengthen its position in the cloud computing industry.
This is evident from the fact that it has made quite a few noteworthy acquisitions in the last few years.
- For example, in 2022 Google acquired an Israel-based startup called Siemplify for $500 million.
- In the same year, it also acquired Mandiant – a cybersecurity firm for $5.4 million.
Multiple high-profile acquisitions from the same industry are definitely going to draw attention from the regulators.
Apart from the interest of authorities, this deal will also draw attention from Google’s competitors, especially Microsoft. The two companies have been the biggest rivals forever.
Microsoft is facing trouble of its own. Its deal with UAE-based company G42 has also come under scrutiny for the latter’s alleged ties with Chinese companies and authorities.
About Wiz
Wiz is a popular cybersecurity platform that was originally founded in Israel and is now headquartered in New York. It was founded in January 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik, and Ami Luttwak, who are also the founders of Adallom. Currently, the company has about 900 employees.
- In August 2022, it became the fastest-ever startup to go from $1 million to $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
- In February this year, the company is said to have reached $350M in ARR. Clearly, Google is making a good investment.
The last we heard from Wiz is that it was planning to acquire Lacework in April this year. But in May, the deal fell through.
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Krishi Chowdhary
Journalist
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