EU Approves Google’s $23 Billion Wiz Acquisition Before February Deadline

EU Approves Google’s $23 Billion Wiz Acquisition before the February deadline, clearing a major cloud security deal that reshapes competitive dynamics across CNAPP and CSPM markets. The European Commission granted Phase I approval, signaling limited antitrust concerns in Europe.

The transaction, framed as the Google Wiz acquisition $23 billion, positions Google to expand security capabilities across multi-cloud and Kubernetes environments.

The approval arrives ahead of the EU merger control February deadline, narrowing remaining regulatory hurdles in other jurisdictions.

EU Approves Google’s $23 Billion Wiz Acquisition: What You Need to Know

• The European Commission cleared the deal early, citing low risk to competition in cloud security.

EU Clearance Signals Limited Antitrust Risk

The European Commission’s unconditional approval indicates the acquisition is unlikely to diminish competition in core cloud security segments.

Wiz competes in Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) categories, including Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM), and Cloud Workload Protection (CWPP).

The Commission appears to view these markets as diversified, with strong rivals across hyperscalers and independents.

Rivals include Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud, and CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security. Given that Wiz is cloud-agnostic and widely deployed on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, the decision suggests regulators see continued multicloud competition post-close.

Deal Terms and Strategic Rationale

Under the Google Wiz acquisition $23 billion transaction, Google strengthens its security stack for multicloud visibility, misconfiguration management, identity analysis, and IaC scanning.

Integrating Wiz’s agentless discovery, graph-based risk analysis, and real-time prioritization could accelerate Google Cloud’s roadmap in CNAPP and developer-centric security.

The deal also aligns with Google’s strategy to embed security throughout the software lifecycle, complementing Chronicle, Mandiant, and threat intelligence capabilities.

For enterprises, the combined portfolio promises unified risk views across containers, serverless, and VM workloads.

Regulatory Timeline and Global Reviews

The EU merger control February deadline had been the key European timebox, now met with early clearance. Other jurisdictions may continue independent reviews. Market watchers will track any conditions from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority and U.S. regulators.

Policy scrutiny remains elevated across hyperscaler deals. Buyers can expect closer attention to data portability, interoperability, and fair access to APIs, areas often raised in cloud competition probes.

Market Impact for CISOs and Cloud Teams

Enterprises running multicloud stacks should expect faster feature velocity and tighter integrations for Google Cloud customers.

However, vendor lock-in concerns may rise if advanced capabilities appear first or exclusively on Google Cloud. Security leaders should maintain exit strategies, ensure data exportability, and preserve heterogeneous tooling where needed.

For broader context on cloud platform risk decisions, review recent coverage of Google Cloud rsync vulnerabilities and the push toward practical zero trust adoption explored in Zero Trust adoption.

The consolidation trend also intersects with major security market moves, including filings like the Netskope IPO.

Competitive Landscape: CNAPP, CSPM, and Identity

Wiz’s strengths include agentless graph analysis across cloud resources, identities, networks, and workloads.

Post-acquisition, Google is positioned to bind identity risk insights more natively to cloud controls and policy automation. Expect competition to intensify across:

• CNAPP breadth: unified vulnerability, secrets, IaC, and runtime controls
• Identity paths: CIEM and lateral movement detection across federated clouds
• Runtime protections: shift-left-to-runtime coverage for containers and serverless

Vendors are likely to respond with expanded partner ecosystems and faster innovation cycles.

Implications for Buyers and Partners

Advantages:

Customers may gain better visibility, tighter integrations, and simplified procurement via Google Cloud. Unified dashboards and graph-based prioritization can streamline risk reduction across multi-account, multi-cloud estates. Procurement leverage may improve when bundling services and support.

Disadvantages:

Feature disparity across clouds could grow, and independence concerns may nudge some organizations to maintain a second CNAPP tool.

Partners tied to cross-cloud deployments may need to re-evaluate integration roadmaps and marketplace listings to preserve neutrality.

Conclusion

The EU approval clears a central hurdle for Google’s $23 billion move to acquire Wiz. The decision underscores the Commission’s view that cloud security competition remains robust.

If other jurisdictions follow without conditions, Google will fold Wiz’s agentless CNAPP into its security portfolio, likely accelerating feature integration for Google Cloud customers.

Security leaders should weigh consolidation benefits against multicloud independence. Maintain optionality, validate data portability, and monitor how the EU merger control February deadline outcome influences reviews elsewhere.

Questions Worth Answering

Did the European Commission impose remedies on the deal?

• No. The EU granted Phase I clearance without conditions, indicating low antitrust risk in cloud security segments.

What products could be affected by the acquisition?

• CNAPP components including CSPM, CIEM, CWPP, and IaC scanning may see faster integration with Google Cloud services.

Will Wiz remain cloud-agnostic after the acquisition?

• Google indicates continued multicloud support, though some features may reach Google Cloud first. Buyers should confirm roadmap details.

How does this impact enterprise multicloud strategies?

• Expect benefits from unified risk views, but preserve flexibility via open standards, exportable data, and secondary tooling.

What comes next in regulatory review?

• Approvals or conditions from UK and U.S. authorities. Timelines vary and can extend beyond the EU’s February milestone.

Which competitors are most affected?

• Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, and CrowdStrike face a stronger Google in CNAPP and identity risk analytics.

How should CISOs prepare?

• Map current CNAPP capabilities, validate vendor lock-in risks, and plan coexistence or migration strategies as integrations roll out.

About Google

Google is a global technology company operating search, cloud computing, security, and productivity platforms. Its Google Cloud division delivers infrastructure, data, and security services.

The company has expanded cybersecurity offerings through organic innovation and acquisitions, including Chronicle and Mandiant. It serves enterprises across regulated sectors worldwide.

Google emphasizes secure-by-design approaches, integrating identity, threat detection, and risk analytics across cloud-native workloads and developer pipelines.

About Margrethe Vestager

Margrethe Vestager is the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for a Europe fit for the Digital Age. She previously served as Competition Commissioner.

Vestager oversees antitrust, digital markets, and merger control enforcement, shaping competition policy across the EU’s single market.

Her portfolio includes technology sector scrutiny, ensuring fair competition, innovation, and consumer choice in fast-evolving digital ecosystems.