Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz, which recently received a valuation of $10 billion in its funding round, is reportedly considering offering to acquire SentinelOne, another Israeli cybersecurity company with a current market value of approximately $4.9 billion. Tamar Harel, a spokesperson for Wiz, confirmed today that the company is seriously considering the potential purchase of SentinelOne. Harel mentioned that Wiz has closely monitored SentinelOne's growth trajectory for years.
This move by Wiz is quite uncommon since startups typically don't acquire traded companies. However, according to the report, Wiz is attracted to SentinelOne's customer base and impressive track record in the cloud security market. Following the release of this news, SentinelOne's shares experienced a 3.2% increase in trading on Wall Street. If this deal does materialize, Wiz will need to secure funding as the acquisition will exceed $5 billion in value. Bloomberg reports indicate that Wiz is already engaged in discussions with banks that might provide support for this ambitious endeavor.
Enough both companies are already collaborating at present. In March, they announced a partnership to combine their respective cybersecurity solutions seamlessly and fortify corporate cloud activities.
One of the hurdles Wiz will face is securing funding for the deal considering it will be up against well-funded private investment funds like Thoma Bravo, who might show interest in acquiring SentinelOne. Another potential bidder for SentinelOne could be its competitor, CrowdStrike, a company traded on Wall Street with a market value of $35 billion.
Wiz was established in March 2020 by Rappaport, Ami Luttwak (CTO) Yinon Costica (VP Product), and Roy Reznik (VP R&D). Before this venture, Rappaport served as the General Manager of R&D at Microsoft Israel after selling his company Adallom to the tech giant for $320 million in 2015.
SentinelOne, launched in Israel in 2013, offers protection against security breaches on laptops and mobile phones by utilizing intelligence to detect unusual behavior within enterprise networks. It competes directly with CrowdStrike. It boasts an impressive clientele that includes major companies and even the U.S. Government.
With support from Daniel Loeb's hedge fund Third Point and venture capital firms like Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, SentinelOne entered the U.S. Stock market in 2021 with a valuation of $8.9 billion. However, initial investor enthusiasm waned when the company struggled to turn a profit due to its strategy of keeping prices low to gain market share.
In June SentinelOne also revealed that it had inaccurately estimated its recurring revenue and needed to adjust it because of a "change in approach and the correction of past mistakes."