As has been widely reported, Wizz recently turned down a $23 billion acquisition offer from Google, which would have made it Google's largest acquisition ever.
Perhaps the Google team balked during due diligence, or there were concerns that a deal of this magnitude would be challenged by regulators, but all reports, including TechCrunch's, suggest that the decision to pull the plug came from Wiz, not Google.
CEO Assaf Rapaport said this in an email sent to Wizz's 1,200 employees, without going into details about the acquisition proposal, saying he was “honored” and that while he was honored, the company “has chosen to continue on its path to continue with Wizz.”
“It would be difficult to turn down such an unbelievable offer, but our incredible team gives me the confidence to make that choice,” Rapaport wrote. He said the company's next goal is to reach $1 billion in annual recurring revenue and go public.
So Google's willingness to make such a big offer likely gave Wiz management confidence that if it remained independent, Wiz could one day be worth more than $23 billion — perhaps as a public company, or even as the target for an even more expensive acquisition.
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