Latest news with #AssafRappaport
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Alphabet's (GOOGL) $32B Wiz Deal Faces DOJ Antitrust Hurdles
June 16 Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) faces an early-stage antitrust review by the Department of Justice over its proposed $32 billion acquisition of Wiz, according to a Bloomberg report. The DOJ is examining whether the deal could reduce competition in cloud security services. The agreement, announced in March, would fold Wiz into Google Cloud while allowing its products to remain available on Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud. Wiz's real-time, AI-powered threat detection and response tools would also be offered through various partner security solutions. Wiz, founded in Israel in 2020 and now based in New York under CEO Assaf Rappaport, nearly joined Alphabet last summer in a $23 billion deal that stalled amid regulatory approval concerns. The current review could influence timing or require concessions before completion. Google did not respond to requests for comment. Observers note that a protracted antitrust process may delay integration but could also lead to adjustments that address competitive worries. As cloud security becomes increasingly vital, the outcome will signal how far regulators will go in policing major tech acquisitions. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Alphabet's (GOOGL) $32B Wiz Deal Faces DOJ Antitrust Hurdles
June 16 Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) faces an early-stage antitrust review by the Department of Justice over its proposed $32 billion acquisition of Wiz, according to a Bloomberg report. The DOJ is examining whether the deal could reduce competition in cloud security services. The agreement, announced in March, would fold Wiz into Google Cloud while allowing its products to remain available on Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud. Wiz's real-time, AI-powered threat detection and response tools would also be offered through various partner security solutions. Wiz, founded in Israel in 2020 and now based in New York under CEO Assaf Rappaport, nearly joined Alphabet last summer in a $23 billion deal that stalled amid regulatory approval concerns. The current review could influence timing or require concessions before completion. Google did not respond to requests for comment. Observers note that a protracted antitrust process may delay integration but could also lead to adjustments that address competitive worries. As cloud security becomes increasingly vital, the outcome will signal how far regulators will go in policing major tech acquisitions. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Google's $32 Billion Wiz Deal Lands Under DOJ Lens
Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG) proposed $32 billion takeover of cloud-security startup Wiz is under early-stage scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice over fears it could stifle competition. The deal, announced in March, would fold Wiz into Google Cloud while preserving its cross-platform integrations with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) AWS, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Azure and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Cloud. Wiz, founded in Israel in 2020 and now headquartered in New York under CEO Assaf Rappaport, offers AI-driven real-time threat detection and response. Alphabet had nearly closed on a roughly $23 billion purchase of Wiz last summer before regulatory worries derailed talks, and the DOJ's antitrust arm is now examining whether the new agreement could illegally limit rivals' access to advanced security tooling. Cloud-security spending is on pace to exceed $12 billion this year as enterprises race to secure hybrid and multi-cloud environments, and Wiz has rapidly gained traction among Fortune 500 customers. Alphabet's integration plan promises deeper embedding of Wiz's AI models into Google's security stack, but rivals warn that exclusive control over Wiz's roadmap could tilt the playing field. Why it matters: A DOJ challenge or conditions could slow Google's push to differentiate its cloud offering through bespoke security services, potentially leaving enterprises and channel partners in limbo. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
24-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Google's $32 Billion Wiz Purchase: Strategic Imperative Or Overreach?
Google's $32 Billion Acquisition of Wiz Aims to Strengthen Its Cloud Security Portfolio and ... More Competitive Position On March 19, 2025, Google formally announced its intent to acquire cloud security firm Wiz for a staggering $32 billion in cash. The announcement made headlines not only for its size but for the extraordinary revenue multiple attached. Wiz's annual recurring revenue at the time of acquisition was reported between $700 million and $800 million, with projections to surpass $1 billion by year-end. That equates to a revenue multiple between 45x and 65x — placing the deal among the highest-priced cybersecurity acquisitions in history. Founded in 2020, Wiz specializes in Cloud-Native Application Protection, offering agentless, real-time visibility and control over vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and access permissions across public cloud environments. In five short years, the company scaled at an unprecedented pace — achieving $100 million ARR in 18 months and reaching a $12 billion private valuation by 2024. Wiz's platform is now deployed by over half of Fortune 100 companies, as well as governments and startups. Its competitive edge lies in the simplicity and breadth of its platform — securing workloads across all major clouds (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) without friction. From a financial perspective, the 50x multiple seems difficult to justify. However, Google's potential strategic motivations reveal the broader rationale behind this bold move: One of the unanswered questions surrounding the deal is whether Wiz will retain its operational independence post-acquisition. While Google's announcement stated Wiz will continue operating independently until regulatory approvals are finalized, it is expected that Wiz will be folded into Google Cloud thereafter. There is no defined leadership role for CEO Assaf Rappaport within Google beyond the transition period, which could raise concerns about product focus and leadership continuity. Mind you, this is Rappaport's second blockbuster exit — he previously sold Adallom to Microsoft in 2015, a transaction that significantly bolstered Microsoft's cloud security capabilities. Moreover, while Google asserts that Wiz's solutions will remain cloud-agnostic, it is unclear how competitors such as Microsoft and AWS will respond — or if they will continue supporting Wiz on their platforms. Their willingness to support a solution that enhances Google's market position is highly in doubt. Ultimately, whether this deal delivers long-term value will be determined by Google's execution and ability to integrate Wiz into GCP. On paper, the revenue multiple is very steep. But if Wiz enables Google Cloud to win more enterprise customers, enhance security trust, and close the competitive gap with Microsoft and AWS, the acquisition may be seen in hindsight as a bold but necessary move. In today's cybersecurity and cloud landscape, value is not always found on the balance sheet — it is often measured in strategic positioning and long-term market control. Time will tell whether Google's $32 billion bet will pay off.
CBC
19-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Google to buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32B US in company's biggest ever deal
Google's parent company, Alphabet, has struck a deal to buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion US in what would be the tech giant's biggest-ever acquisition, a move which comes at the same time it's facing a potential breakup of its internet empire. The proposed takeover announced Tuesday is part of Google's aggressive expansion into cloud computing during an artificial intelligence boom. The frenzy is driving demand for data centres that provide the computing power for AI technology and intensifying the competition in that space among Google and two other tech powerhouses, Microsoft and Amazon. If the all-cash transaction is approved by regulators, Wiz will join Google Cloud. Most of Alphabet's $350-billion US annual revenue still stems from its search and advertising operations, but with the advent of AI, the cloud division has become a rising star at Google. Annual revenue in the division was $26.3 billion US in 2022, and soared 64 per cent to $43.2 billion US last year. The bid Tuesday, which would go down as the biggest-ever cybersecurity acquisition across the sector, easily eclipses the current largest acquisition in Google's 26-year history — a $12.5-billion US takeover of Motorola Mobility in 2012 that didn't pay off the way that the Mountain View, Calif., company had hoped. Wiz, a five-year-old startup founded by four longtime friends who met in the Israeli army when they were still teenagers, is on track for an estimated $1 billion US in revenue this year. After getting its start in Israel in 2020, Wiz now oversees an operation that makes security tools protecting the information stored in data centres from its current headquarters in New York. "Wiz and Google Cloud are both fuelled by the belief that cloud security needs to be easier, more accessible, more intelligent and democratized, so more organizations can adopt and use cloud and AI securely," Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport wrote in a blog post. In a Tuesday conference call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai predicted Cloud division's addition of Wiz will result in even better security at a lower cost than can be provided now. That prediction may have been aimed as much at regulators likely to scrutinize how the deal will affect competition and pricing, as it was at prospective customers. Google had been courting Wiz for some time before finally settling on a significantly higher price than the reported $23-billion US bid that was rejected last July. Investors reacted coolly to Tuesday's news, as they usually do with high-price acquisitions, with Alphabet's shares declining two per cent. Some of Google's other acquisitions have turned into gold mines, most notably its $1.76-billion US purchase of online video pioneer YouTube in 2006 and its $3.1-billion US takeover of advertising technology platform DoubleClick in 2008. A $5.4-billion US purchase of another security firm, Mandiant, in 2022 also helped fuel the recent growth of Google's Cloud division, which posted an operating profit of $6.1 billion US last year. Google's DoubleClick deal is now part of an antitrust case filed by the U.S. Justice Department targeting Google's technology for distributing ads across the internet. A ruling in that case, involving allegations that Google illegally abused its power to manipulate digital ad prices, is expected this year. Antitrust cases threatening Google's empire Regulators in the U.S. and abroad are targeting Google on other fronts, too. Last year, a federal judge in another case brought by the Justice Department concluded Google had turned its ubiquitous search engine into an illegal monopoly. The penalization phase of that trial begins next month. The Wiz deal will also get a close look from antitrust regulators, due to the potential impact on standalone cyber security vendors, as well as potential disruption for bigger rivals. WATCH | Why the U.S. Justice Department is going after Google: The U.S. DOJ wants to break up Google. Here's how | About That 4 months ago Duration 9:21 The U.S. Department of Justice proposed a major breakup of Google to address its illegal monopoly in the online search market. Andrew Chang breaks down the request and explains why the Department of Justice wants to force Google to sell its Chrome web browser — and possibly more. Antitrust concerns may have contributed to Wiz's withdrawal from sales talks last year while then U.S. president Joe Biden's administration was seeking to block a variety of tech deals. Agreeing to a sale now indicates both Google and Wiz are more confident the deal will gain U.S. approval under the Trump administration, Mergermarket analysts Kevin Ketcham and Kevin McCaffrey wrote in a note Tuesday. "The two sides likely wouldn't have struck the deal if they didn't at least see a potential path to closing," they said. But the business watchdog group Demand Progress Education Fund urged the Trump administration to block Google's takeover attempt. "It's time to show the public whether they have the guts to step in and stop a big fish from being gobbled up by one of the biggest fishes in the pond," said Emily Peterson-Cassin, the group's director of corporate power. If the companies get the regulatory greenlight and meet several conditions spelled out in their agreement, Google and Wiz expect the deal to close in 2026.
