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Google has officially outbid Microsoft for the cybersecurity company that helped discover the SolarWinds hack.
Mandiant confirmed today (8 March) that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Google in an all-cash transaction.
Google has agreed to pay $23 per share, valuing the deal at about $5.4bn.
Following the acquisition, cybersecurity player Mandiant will become part of Google Cloud to advance its security offerings. The combined companies will deliver an end-to-end security operations suite and advisory services.
“Google Cloud shares our mission-driven culture to bring security to every organisation,” said Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia.
“Together, we will deliver our expertise and intelligence at scale via the Mandiant Advantage SaaS platform, as part of the Google Cloud security portfolio. These efforts will help organisations to effectively, efficiently and continuously manage and configure their complex mix of security products.”
Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said the acquisition has the potential to make a “profound impact” on cloud security and further adoption of cloud technologies.
The Information reported yesterday (7 March) that Google was in talks to acquire the business in a multibillion-dollar deal, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
It was said that such a deal could bolster Google’s cloud computing business and help it compete with larger rival Microsoft.
The news comes a month after Bloomberg reported that Microsoft was in talks to acquire Mandiant in a bid to further bolster its own cybersecurity efforts. This would be on top of its recent acquisitions of cybersecurity firm RiskIQ and security start-ups ReFirm Labs and CyberX.
The Information reported that bids for Mandiant were due at the end of February.
Mandiant offers managed detection and incident response services, and is credited with helping to discover the SolarWinds hack in 2020.
The company was acquired by FireEye in 2014 in a deal worth more than $1bn, but became an independent entity again last year after the FireEye product business was sold to McAfee Enterprise.
Its revenue reached $483m in 2021, a 21pc increase over the previous year, and the company currently has a market cap of around $5bn.
According to CNBC, Mandiant shares were up 16pc in closing yesterday following the report about a potential Google takeover.
This is an area that Google has been investing in recently, adding Israeli cybersecurity start-up Siemplify to its cloud security team earlier this year.
This is an updated version of an article that was originally published at 8.53am on Tuesday, 8 March 2022.
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