Author: Milana Venn and Steven Schell
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for about $23 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday, in a deal that would It is the largest acquisition in the history of the technology giant.
The deal, which will be largely cash-funded, could be completed soon, the sources added, speaking on condition of anonymity. Founded in Israel and now headquartered in New York, Wiz is one of the world’s fastest-growing software startups, providing cloud-based cybersecurity solutions and real-time threat detection and response powered by artificial intelligence.
If Alphabet goes ahead with the deal, it would be a rare example of a major tech company trying to pull off a major deal amid increased regulatory scrutiny of the industry by U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration. In recent years, U.S. regulators have grown increasingly averse to big tech companies seeking to expand through acquisitions.
According to the Wiz website, Wiz will have revenue of approximately $350 million in 2023 and works with 40% of Fortune 100 companies. The company recently raised $1 billion in a private funding round, valuing it at $12 billion.
Alphabet and Wiz did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Wiz works with several cloud providers, including Microsoft (NASDAQ: ) and Amazon (NASDAQ: ), and clients include the likes of Morgan Stanley and DocuSign (NASDAQ: ). Wiz has 900 employees in the United States, Europe, Asia and Israel, and has previously said it plans to add 400 employees globally by 2024.
Alphabet recently decided not to acquire online marketing software company HubSpot (NYSE: ).
This year saw an increase in deals in the broader technology sector.
In January, design software company Synopsys (NASDAQ: ) agreed to acquire smaller rival Ansys (NASDAQ: ) for about $35 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: ) reached an agreement in January to acquire networking equipment maker Juniper Networks (NYSE: ) for $14 billion.
Dealogic data shows that the technology industry accounted for the largest share of M&A transactions in the first half of this year, with an annual increase of more than 42% to $327.2 billion.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Sunday about Alphabet’s talks with Wiz.
