Alphabet, the parent company of search engine Google, is reportedly in talks to acquire cybersecurity firm Wiz for $23 billion U.S. in what would be its biggest deal ever.
Multiple media outlets are reporting that the acquisition of privately held Wiz could be announced as soon as today (July 15).
Wiz was founded in 2020 and had been planning an initial public offering (IPO) later this year. The company’s valuation had been placed at $12 billion U.S. in earlier funding rounds.
Wiz provides cybersecurity for cloud-computing platforms and services.
If successfully completed, the acquisition of Wiz would be Alphabet’s biggest deal ever. However, this would not be Alphabet’s first cybersecurity purchase.
In 2022, Alphabet acquired cybersecurity firm Mandiant for $5.4 billion U.S. Alphabet executives have said that growing their cybersecurity offerings remains a key focus of the technology giant.
The Wiz deal would be subject to regulatory approval and comes as Alphabet faces heightened levels of antitrust scrutiny. The U.S. Justice Department has sued Google twice in recent years on antitrust grounds.
The acquisition of Wiz also comes after negotiations that would have seen Alphabet acquire sales software maker Hubspot (HUBS) collapsed in recent weeks.
The stock of Alphabet has risen 48% over the past 12 months and currently trades at $185.01 U.S. per share.
