Mar 8, 2022 - Economy

Google to buy cybersecurity firm Mandiant for $5.4 billion

Dan Primack

Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Google has agreed to buy Mandiant (Nasdaq: MNDT), a Reston, Va.-based cybersecurity firm, for $5.4 billion in cash.

Why it matters: The deal reflects how the rise of cloud computing comes with increased cybersecurity needs, which is why Microsoft was also interested in buying Mandiant — a company that recently generated headlines for uncovering the SolarWinds hack.

Details: The $23 per share price represents around a 53% premium to where Mandiant traded before the first reports of Microsoft's interest, and an 18.7% premium to where shares opened Monday. Mandiant shares last topped $23 at the end of 2020.

The bottom line: Axios previously noted that Microsoft's pursuit of Mandiant was evidence that the Biden administration's antitrust efforts aren't scaring Big Tech off of multi-billion dollar acquisitions. Replace Microsoft with Google, and the same takeaway applies.

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Google to buy cybersecurity firm Mandiant for $5.4 billion

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