Mandiant, the threat intelligence and incident response firm, 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 $5.4 billion. Following the acquisition, Mandiant will become part of Google Cloud to advance its security offerings delivering an end-to-end security operations suite and advisory services.

It is thought that Google’s move to boost its security capabilities will enable it to better compete with rivals AWS and Microsoft Azure.

It was understood that Mandiant had asked interested suitors to tender their bids before the end of February. The Information reported March 7 that Google was in talks to acquire Mandiant in a multibillion-dollar deal. It was also reported that Microsoft had also made an offer to buy the company in February. According to The Information, it was thought Google would be the most likely to get an offer, given that Microsoft already dominates the security software market.

Following yesterday’s report on Google’s offer, Mandiant’s stock prices rose by more than 16% to $22.49 per share, its highest level since June 2021 and the company was estimated to be worth $5.26 billion. Mandiant’s growth has partially been attributed to the sale of FireEye, its network, endpoint and email security business, which was sold to Symphony Technology Group in October last year for $1.2 billion.

Google is keen to grow its security business having bought venture-backed cybersecurity startup, Siemplify, for its breach prevention capabilities in January. The deal was reported to be worth $500 million. Google has said plans to integrate the technology with the product portfolio of its Chronicle cybersecurity unit. It is thought that if Google cannot seriously bolster its security capabilities it will have to let Microsoft handle security for its cloud.

By Emily Nicholls