By Edith Hancock
The European Union approved Google's $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity startup Wiz, a win for the Alphabet unit's largest-ever takeover.
The commission, the EU's executive arm, said Tuesday that the agreement is unlikely to affect competition in the bloc. The regulator said that customers could switch to services provided by other credible competitors if Google started bundling Wiz's security platform with its own existing products or if Wiz's platform became incompatible with any cloud that compete with Google's.
"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," Teresa Ribera, the bloc's competition enforcer, said in a statement.
The watchdog also said that Google would not gain access to commercially sensitive data through its acquisition.
Google announced the all-cash deal in March 2025, betting that bringing Wiz under its cloud business would help it fast-track improvements in cloud security and enhance its ability to use multiple clouds, both trends that have gathered pace in the artificial-intelligence era.
Wiz provides cybersecurity software for cloud computing and has presences in New York; Arlington, Virginia; London and Tel Aviv.
The deal--cleared by U.S. antitrust authorities in November last year--was flagged to the EU's merger watchdog for screening in January.
"Increasing access to multicloud security solutions, as this acquisition will do, will provide businesses and governments more choice in how they protect themselves," a Google spokesperson said, adding that the deal is expected to close in 2026.
Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-10-26 1121ET
