Google (GOOG) on Tuesday announced it has agreed to buy cybersecurity firm Mandiant for around $5.4 billion, one of the largest acquisitions in the tech giant’s history and a big bet that helping companies better address cyber threats can bolster its cloud computing business.
“The acquisition of Mandiant will complement Google Cloud’s existing strengths in security,” Google and Mandiant said in a joint statement Tuesday. “Combined with Google Cloud’s cloud-native security offerings, the acquisition will help enterprises globally stay protected at every stage of the security lifecycle.”
Google Cloud is central to the company’s broader efforts to diversity its revenue beyond its core search advertising business. Although Google Cloud sales have grown at a fast clip, it has struggled to compete with similar services from Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN).
The deal comes at a time when businesses may be feeling heightened cybersecurity concerns given Russia’s war with Ukraine. In recent weeks, US officials have been warning businesses and local governments about the threat of cybersecurity attacks, given Russian hackers have previously gone after US targets.
