Wiz, a New York-based cybersecurity startup, has rejected a $23 billion acquisition offer from Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The deal would have been Alphabet’s largest acquisition to date. Founded in 2020 by veterans of Israel’s cyberintelligence unit, Wiz specializes in cloud security solutions.
SCOOP: Wiz, the $12 billion cloud security startup that was in acquisition talks with Google, has decided not to move forward with the deal. This is a developing story, more below.https://t.co/aXZjtUDS1e
— Allie Garfinkle (@agarfinks) July 23, 2024
It scans data stored on cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure to identify potential security risks. In an internal memo, Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport confirmed the decision to decline the offer.
MAJOR NEWS: Google's deal to acquire Wiz is dead. The company plans to pursue an IPO instead. w/ @jenn_elias @jordannovet @CNBC https://t.co/liAisxQmBi
— Rohan Goswami (@rogoswami) July 23, 2024
“While we are flattered by offers we have received, we have chosen to continue on our path to building Wiz,” he stated.
Rappaport outlined the company’s future goals. These include reaching $1 billion in annual recurring revenue and pursuing an initial public offering (IPO).
Wiz’s future growth path
Google Stock Could Rise On Q2 Cloud Growth Despite Busted Wiz Deal https://t.co/JdmBttq4vb
— Peter Cohan (@petercohan) July 23, 2024
The proposed deal faced potential regulatory hurdles. Authorities have recently toughened their stance on big tech acquisitions.
Why did cyber-security firm Wiz reject $23bn Google takeover offer? It would have been Google's biggest ever acquisition and nearly double the firm's valuation. This from myself and @GrahamJFraser https://t.co/Z1HgFem7jK
— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) July 23, 2024
Last December, Adobe abandoned its $20 billion takeover of Figma due to competition concerns raised by European and UK regulators.
Wiz counts 40 percent of Fortune 100 companies among its customers. It was most recently valued at $12 billion during a funding round in May. The company currently generates $350 million in annual recurring revenue.
The rejection of Alphabet’s offer represents a setback for Google’s cloud division. Google has been seeking to compete with rivals Microsoft and Amazon in the lucrative cloud services market. As of Tuesday morning, neither Wiz nor Google had released official statements regarding the termination of deal talks.
