The cancellation of Google’s proposed acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz, which was valued at $23 billion, is expected to have significant repercussions for the technology sector, particularly for Microsoft.
Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport announced the decision to reject Google’s offer, stating he wanted to prioritize the growth of the company towards achieving $1 billion in annual revenue and pursuing an initial public offering (IPO). This acquisition would have strengthened Google’s foothold in the cybersecurity market, especially following a major outage attributed to a cybersecurity issue at CrowdStrike.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives noted that concerns from investors and ongoing antitrust challenges likely contributed to the collapse of the deal. Google has been under intense scrutiny regarding antitrust issues and recently concluded a trial related to one of its major cases with the Department of Justice.
Ives mentioned in a statement that the cancellation of the Wiz acquisition will have ripple effects throughout the cybersecurity industry. He believes Google will continue to expand its cybersecurity efforts, and that Microsoft may also seek to enhance its own cybersecurity capabilities in the coming year or so.
This focus on bolstering cybersecurity comes in light of a recent global IT outage caused by a problematic update to Microsoft’s cybersecurity software from CrowdStrike. The incident led to significant disruptions worldwide, including business, flight, and government operations.
Ives reiterated that despite the CrowdStrike outage, it remains a leading entity in cybersecurity, indicating that Microsoft’s need to strengthen its cybersecurity services may be further amplified by Google’s failed acquisition of Wiz.