Alphabet to buy cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion

NEW YORK — Google owner Alphabet will buy cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion, the biggest acquisition in the company’s history.

The all-cash deal is set to boost Alphabet’s profile in the cloud computing market, a space currently led by Amazon and Microsoft. Once the transaction is closed, the company says Wiz will join Google Cloud.

“Today, businesses and governments that run in the cloud are looking for even stronger security solutions, and greater choice in cloud computing providers,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement Tuesday — adding that Google Cloud and Wiz will “turbocharge improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds” together.

Wiz, a four-year-old startup headquartered in New York, makes security tools designed to shield the information stored in remote data centers from intruders.

Google has had its eyes on Wiz for some time. The purchase price announced Tuesday surpasses a reported $23 billion buyout proposal that Wiz rejected last July.

The proposed buyout will get a close look from antitrust regulators. While many expect the Trump administration to be more friendly to business deals, it has also shown skepticism of big tech.

Also, the new Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson has vowed to maintain a tough review process for mergers and acquisitions.