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Google’s parent company Alphabet is in talks to buy cyber security start-up Wiz for about $23bn, in what would be the largest acquisition in the tech group’s history, according to people familiar with the matter.
Alphabet’s discussions to acquire Wiz are still weeks away from completion, said one person with direct knowledge of the matter, while people briefed about the transaction said there was still a chance the deal would fall apart, with a number of details still needing to be addressed in talks.
If a deal were to be reached it would be a test case for antitrust regulators, which in recent years have been cracking down on tech groups buying out emerging companies in the sector. Alphabet’s last big deal came more than a decade ago with the $12.5bn acquisition of Motorola Mobility.
The acquisition of Wiz would mark a further big push into cyber security for Alphabet, two years after it acquired Mandiant for $5.4bn.
New York-headquartered Wiz has raised about $2bn from investors since its founding four years ago, according to data provider PitchBook. The start-up, led by Israeli founder and former Microsoft executive Assaf Rappaport, was most recently valued at $12bn. Its backers include venture capital firms Sequoia and Thrive.
Wiz, which counts multinational groups including Salesforce, Mars and BMW as customers, helps companies secure programs in the cloud. That has led to a surge in revenue as corporations increasingly operate their software and store data online — Wiz has said it has hit about $350mn in annual recurring revenue, a metric often used by software start-ups.
A deal would be among the largest acquisitions of a company backed by venture capital.
Wiz declined to comment on the talks, which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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