Google’s deal to acquire cybersecurity firm Mandiant is a sensible move that also keeps a market leader out of Microsoft’s hands. But catching up with this rival will take more work, writes JMAGuilford:
Alphabet’s Google unit said on March 8 that it had reached an agreement to acquire cybersecurity firm Mandiant in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $5.4 billion.
Mandiant, then known as FireEye, sold its products business to private equity firm Symphony Technology Group in June 2021 for $1.2 billion. FireEye had originally acquired Mandiant, which specializes in threat detection and response, for around $1 billion in 2014. The deal was announced after Bloomberg reported on Feb. 8 that Microsoft was considering a bid for Mandiant. Bloomberg on March 7 cited people with knowledge of the deliberations as saying Microsoft had ended talks with Mandiant more than a week earlier.A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. Photo taken May 8, 2019.