Google Intents To Acquire Cybersecurity Firm Mandiant for $5.4 Billion

Synopsis- Reportedly, the Alphabet company will pay $23/share for the cybersecurity firm that was founded in 2004. Notably, Microsoft has shown interest in Mandiant. However, it stepped back a week ago, as per the reports.

Search engine giant Google has announced its plan to acquire cybersecurity firm Mandiant for over $5.4 billion. The acquisition is an effort to provide the company’s cloud users with more security. The deal is said to be Google’s second-largest deal ever after the acquisition of Motorola Mobility which was announced in 2011.

Reportedly, the Alphabet company will pay $23/share for the cybersecurity firm that was founded in 2004. Notably, Microsoft has shown interest in Mandiant. However, it stepped back a week ago, as per the reports.

The deal is announced amidst the rising cybersecurity threats on governments and companies. Also, the escalated hacking incidents against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine have resulted in increased stress among companies and the governments.

Google in a blog has stated about the acquisition. It mentioned that the acquisition of Mandiant will ‘complement Google Cloud’s existing strengths in security.’ 

“With the addition of Mandiant, Google Cloud will enhance these offerings to deliver an end-to-end security operations suite with even greater capabilities to support customers across their cloud and on-premise environments,” the post reads.

Apart from this, Mandiant was founded by Kevin Mandia, a former officer of the United States Air Force. The company was initially named ‘Red Cliff Consulting and got its existing name in 2006, 2 years after it was founded by Mandia. It was acquired by FireEye which is also known as Trellix in 2013. It has a market value of over $5.25 and has more than 2,300 employees.

Talking about the acquisition the blog post by Google has quoted Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud, saying, “Organizations around the world are facing unprecedented cybersecurity challenges as the sophistication and severity of attacks that were previously used to target major governments are now being used to target companies in every industry.” 

“We look forward to welcoming Mandiant to Google Cloud to further enhance our security operations suite and advisory services, and help customers address their most important security challenges,” Kurian added.

On the other hand, Kevin Mandia, CEO Mandiant, said, “There has never been a more critical time in cybersecurity. Since our founding in 2004, Mandiant’s mission has been to combat cyber attacks and protect our customers from the latest threats.” 

Furthermore, Mandia added, “To that end, we are thrilled to be joining forces with Google Cloud. Together, we will deliver expertise and intelligence at scale, changing the security industry.”

According to a press release by Mandiant, the acquisition is expected to close later this year. It also revealed that Goldman Sachs & Co.LLC is an exclusive financial advisor and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati P.C. is the legal advisor for the company for this deal.

“The acquisition of Mandiant is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of Mandiant stockholder and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close later this year,” Mandiant mentioned in the press release.