BRUSSELS, Feb 10 - Alphabet’s Google received unconditional approval from the European Commission on Tuesday for its proposed $32 billion purchase of cybersecurity company Wiz, the largest acquisition in the company’s history. EU competition authorities concluded the transaction does not create competition concerns.
The transaction, first disclosed in March last year, is framed as a move to strengthen Google’s position in cybersecurity and the cloud computing market - arenas in which it competes with larger rivals Amazon and Microsoft. Regulators said their analysis shows customers will still have credible alternatives when choosing cloud infrastructure providers and will retain the ability to switch between them.
"Google stands behind Amazon and Microsoft in terms of market shares in cloud infrastructure, and our assessment confirmed that customers will continue to have credible alternatives and the ability to switch providers," EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement.
The European Commission also evaluated the sensitivity of any data Google would obtain through the deal and determined that such information is not commercially sensitive. The regulator added that other security software companies will be able to assess the same material, a factor that contributed to the unconditional approval.
Recent years have seen increased regulatory attention on technology sector transactions amid concerns these deals might amplify the market power of large firms and limit opportunities for smaller competitors. The Commission’s decision in this case indicates it judged the Wiz acquisition will not materially alter competitive dynamics in a way that harms customers or rivals.
Alongside the regulatory pronouncements, market commentary included evaluation tools that track stocks such as GOOGL. Some of these tools assess fundamentals, momentum, and valuation to identify potential investment ideas, and they include GOOGL among the companies they evaluate.
With the Commission’s unconditional clearance, the path is open for the deal to proceed without additional EU-mandated remedies or conditions. The approval leaves intact regulators’ judgment that competitors and customers will continue to find viable choices across cloud infrastructure and security software offerings.