By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com -- Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) intends to acquire cybersecurity company Mandiant Inc (NASDAQ:MNDT) in a deal worth approximately $5.4 billion, the company announced Tuesday.
Google will pay $23 per share for Mandiant in a move it says is to protect against risks facing its Google Cloud customers. Mandiant will join Google Cloud once the deal goes through.
"The acquisition of Mandiant will complement Google Cloud’s existing strengths in security," Google stated.
Mandiant — founded in 2004 — is publicly traded. Its shares are down 3.4% Tuesday after a 16% gain Monday following initial reports of the deal.
“Organizations around the world are facing unprecedented cybersecurity challenges as the sophistication and severity of attacks that were previously used to target major governments are now being used to target companies in every industry,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud.
“We look forward to welcoming Mandiant to Google Cloud to further enhance our security operations suite and advisory services, and help customers address their most important security challenges," he added.
If the deal gains approval, it will be Google’s second-largest acquisition behind its $12.5 billion deal for Motorola Mobility in 2012.
Google's parent company Alphabet Inc has declined 0.2% Tuesday.