Google’s $23 billion snub from Wiz will sting both companies

livemint.com:

Money talks, as they say, but even $23 billion of it did not convince the founders of Wiz Inc to sell the business to Alphabet Inc, parent of Google. Wiz, a New York-headquartered cybersecurity company that until recently would have been confused with a Hungarian low-cost airline or the name of a rapper, has apparently made the mother of all jiujitsu moves against the acquisitive tech giant.

It has walked away from what would have been Google’s biggest-ever purchase two months after the start of talks. In a memo to Wiz employees, Wiz’s co-founder Assaf Rappaport said Google’s offer was “humbling," but the company wanted to focus on growing its recurring revenue to $1 billion (it is currently at $550 million) and pursue an initial public offer at some point.

Cue frustration among Wiz employees who likely aren’t thrilled about missing out on a big payday. The fallout may be worse for Google, which is floundering in its efforts to bolster its cloud business and catch up with Amazon.com and Microsoft Corp, its principal rivals in this market.

This is the second time in a month that Google has lost out on such an acquisition. Earlier in July, the company ended its efforts to acquire HubSpot Inc, a customer-relationship management software maker that would have helped it compete with Microsoft, Oracle Corp and Salesforce Inc, in another mega deal.

Though its unclear why that deal fell apart, it likely would have attracted antitrust scrutiny at a time when Google already faces a lawsuit from the US Justice Department over its dominance in search and advertising. Wiz’s rejection, combined with the testy regulatory environment, puts Google in an even more awkward position in its effort to grow its cloud business, which has 11% of