$23 billion wasn’t enough to close the initial deal for Wiz. In July of last year, Google submitted its proposal to acquire the cloud cybersecurity company, but the offer was rejected. Had it gone through, it would have marked the most ambitious acquisition in the search engine’s history. Talks continued, and after months of negotiations, Google has managed to close the deal for $32 billion.
Google, under the leadership of Sundar Pichai, will pay $32 billion in an all-cash transaction. For now, they have signed a “definitive agreement” that paves the way for the closing of the transaction. However, as with any acquisition of this magnitude, the process still must pass the scrutiny of competition regulators in several countries, including the US FTC, the UK CMA, and European Union authorities.
Google’s most expensive acquisition. Until now, no acquisition had cost the Mountain View giant so much. To put that in perspective, YouTube cost $1.65 billion, Motorola $12.5 billion, and Mandiant $5.4 billion. Wiz far exceeds any previous figure.
Multi-million-dollar acquisitions are not decisions that big tech companies take lightly. Behind every move of this magnitude lies a well-defined strategy. In this case, Google is betting on Wiz to strengthen cloud security and enhance its multi-cloud approach. If all goes according to plan, the company will become part of Google Cloud, the ambitious cloud computing division that has gained significant notoriety amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
What makes Wiz stand out? This New York-based company offers a cloud security platform that seamlessly integrates with leading cloud services and code environments. Its technology quickly analyzes a client’s infrastructure, creating a detailed map of code, resources, services, and applications, as well as their connections. This identifies potential attack paths, prioritizes the most critical risks, and enables developers to strengthen security before deployment.
Google Cloud’s competitors are working with Wiz. What happens next? Three of Google Cloud’s main rivals—Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud—already use Wiz solutions. Now that Google’s acquisition seems imminent, questions arise about the future of these agreements. According to the company, Wiz services will continue to be available to third parties. In fact, Google Cloud plans to offer these security solutions to its partners through its Marketplace.
“We look forward to welcoming the Wiz team and providing better cybersecurity alternatives for businesses and governments around the world,” the company said, making its focus clear.