Google’s Plan to Buy Security Firm Wiz Gets Antitrust Review
With antitrust officials purportedly investigating whether the mega-deal will suppress the market and leave consumer goods in free digital Wild West, Google’s $32 billion cybersecurity power play to acquire Wiz is under the antitrust microscope. Will Google’s ambitions in cybersecurity precipitate a regulatory showdown?
In secret, the antitrust authorities are investigating the proposed deal of Google, which came into the market in March. Sources familiar with the inquiry give an account of an intense analysis of the strategy belonging to the Alphabet unit, while constantly scrutinizing and engaging in conversations with all sorts of people, including the merging parties themselves, wary rival companies, and concerned customers. The investigation remains shrouded in mystery and seeks to find whether the focussing would gear innovation or competition.
Being nascent in itself, the investigation spreads further into a winding road that may keep chances of realizing that final judgment alive for months. The fate of the deal hangs in balance, completely depending on whether the US authorities said to move forward with it.
Besides most mergers slipping through regulatory fingers unnoticed, acquirer’s Wiz acquisition starring Google has screamed scrutiny. And how loud? In October 2022, Bloomberg reported a staggering $3.2 billion breakup fee, 10% of the transaction value, flaunts the tech giant’s preparedness for an antitrust clash. This isn’t just a merger anymore. This is a big gamble.
Representatives of Google and the DOJ refused to comment, giving no insight into the review. Attempts to contact Wiz’s communications team for comment on the matter proved futile.
Antitrust agencies have put Washington in the hot seat with Google. Having just been downgraded to an afterthought with two separate federal courts having ruled that Google engaged in illegal monopolies in online search and in ad tech, the company may now be literally dismantled with unitsilzing key ones. Could Chrome-the world’s most dragon-like web browser-and other ad placement tools be next on the chopping block? The antitrust heat is really on.
Previous Acquisition
Google might have an offensive set for Uber cloud-security superheroes with Wiz-this kick. This probably would not have been their first time in buying such a big Cybersecurity company, remember $5.4 billion for Mandiant in 2022? Why? To pour stars into their cloud computing division to catch up with Microsoft. But the Mandiant deal, of course, got headaches with the DOJ, although it really slid under the radar and got approved. Are we going to see an acquisition of Wiz next, causing further ripples in cloud security?
Mandiant is hunting threats and breach investigations, with Wiz’s perspective slamming doors into cloud vulnerabilities. Imagine Mandiant as a detective who comes after a crime has been committed, whereas Wiz is the security system preventing it. Unlike Mandiant, Wiz takes a broader approach, protecting even the most intricate cloud infrastructures. Of particular interest is its good reputation in integrations of cloud giants: Amazon, Oracle, and Microsoft for ensuring cross-environment protection.
The purchase of Wiz by Google is more than a transaction; it is an enhancer of cloud security in the new-age AI world. Think of it as an upgrade of cloud defense with the latest technology. Google has put these big heavy bets on Wiz to keep customer systems airtight or nearly.” Wait, there is more: Wiz would keep securing data irrespective of the platform on which the cloud exists, keeping the digital safety landscape very much even.
© 2025 Bloomberg LP
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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