Google parent company Alphabet is in advanced talks to buy an Israeli cloud security company. Weez The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Amazon intends to buy a stake in Amazon for $23 billion, in what could be its largest acquisition ever.
People familiar with the potential deal told the Wall Street Journal that a deal could be reached soon, assuming talks don’t collapse.
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If the acquisition goes through, it would be Alphabet’s most expensive acquisition ever, and the highest amount ever paid for an Israeli company.
Wiz, co-founded in early 2020 by CEO Asaf Rappaport, Ynon Kostika, Amy Luttwak and Roy Reznick, raised $965 million in May at a valuation of $12 billion — so $23 billion would be roughly double that amount. Wiz reported annual recurring revenue of $340 million, though actual revenue is believed to be lower, at around $100-150 million, according to estimates.
“Alphabet is eyeing the deal at a time when the search company and other tech giants are under intense antitrust scrutiny,” the Wall Street Journal added. “The acquisition could also help bolster Alphabet’s efforts in cloud computing, a key and growing area that has lagged behind its peers.”
This will be Google’s second acquisition of an Israeli cybersecurity company after it bought Siemplify for $500 million in 2022.
If the deal goes through, Wiz’s four founders, who each own an estimated 10% stake in the company, will gain $2.5 billion from their stakes. Other big winners will be Sequoia and Gil Ra’anan Cyberstarts, which invested in Wiz’s first funding round in early 2020 before the Covid pandemic hit. Subsequent investors include Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock & Wellington, Blackstone, Greenoaks, Salesforce, as well as LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz.
Weiss declined to comment on the report.
This article was published in Globes, Israeli Business News – en.globes.co.il – on July 14, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
