Wiz rejects Google’s $23 billion takeover in favor of IPO

Cybersecurity startup Wiz has turned down a $23 cardinal takeover bid from Google’s parent, Alphabet, breaking disconnected what would person been the largest acquisition successful the hunt giant’s history. In an interior memo seen by CNBC, Wiz co-founder Assaf Rappaport said the institution would alternatively prosecute an archetypal nationalist offering. 

“Saying nary to specified humbling offers is tough,” Rappaport said successful the memo sent to Wiz employees. Had the acquisition gone ahead, it would person doubled the $12 cardinal valuation that Wiz announced successful May aft the institution raised $1 cardinal successful backstage funding. According to the memo, Wiz volition present absorption connected achieving $1 cardinal successful yearly recurring gross alongside the IPO — goals the information steadfast had acceptable earlier its talks with Google. Neither Wiz nor Alphabet person officially acknowledged that a woody was being discussed.

Wiz offers cloud-based information solutions for endeavor customers, an charismatic people that could person placed Google successful a amended presumption to vie with manufacture leaders Microsoft and Amazon. Antitrust regulators person progressively fixated connected deals made by Big Tech successful caller years, however, and according to CNBC, some antitrust and capitalist concerns were cited arsenic reasons for Wiz abandoning the deal.

The Justice Department has already launched 2 ongoing antitrust lawsuits against Google implicit its search engine and digital advertising businesses. Google purchased 2 cybersecurity firms successful 2022 — Siemplify and Mandiant — for $500 cardinal and $5.4 billion, respectively, with the second institution champion recognized for uncovering the SolarWinds hack.