Google parent company Alphabet is in advanced talks to buy Israeli cloud security company Wiz for $23 billion, "The Wall Street Journal" reports, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be its largest acquisition ever.
A deal could come together soon, assuming the talks don’t fall apart, the people familiar with the potential deal told "The Wall Street Journal."
If the acquisition goes ahead it will be the most expensive ever acquisition by Alphabet and the highest amount ever paid for an Israeli company.
Wiz, which was cofounded in early 2020 by CEO Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik, raised $965 million in May at a company valuation of $12 billion - so $23 billion would almost be double that amount. Wiz has reported an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $340 million, although according to estimates, the real revenue is believed to be less than that, at around $100-150 million dollars.
"The Wall Street Journal" added, "Alphabet is eyeing the deal at a time of intense antitrust scrutiny of the search company and other tech giants. The acquisition could also help boost Alphabet’s efforts in cloud computing, an important and growing business but one where it has lagged behind peers."
Any acquisition would be Google's second of an Israeli cybersecurity company after it bought Siemplify for $500 million in 2022.
If the deal goes ahead then Wiz's four founders, who each hold an estimated 10% in the company, would each earn $2.5 billion from their stakes. Other big winners would be Sequoia and Gil Ra'anan's Cyberstarts, which invested in Wiz's first financing round in early 2020 before the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. Later investors include Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock, Wellington, Blackstone, Greenoaks and Salesforce as well as LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz.
Wiz declined to comment on the report.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 14, 2024.
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