Google and Mandiant deal passes important step

$5.4bn deal allowed to go ahead by US Department of Justice, filing shows

Google's acquisition of Mandiant has taken a step forward after a filing by the cybersecurity firm revealed that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has effectively ended its antitrust inquiry into the deal.

Tech giant Google announced its plans to acquire the California-based business for $5.4bn in March.

Mandiant, which provides threat intelligence to protect against cyberattacks, will "enhance" Google's existing cloud security capabilities, the company said.

And in a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Mandiant says the acquisition has now fulfilled one of the conditions required for the merger to go through.

"On 15 July 2022, the DOJ granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR) with respect to the merger," the filing states.

"The early termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the merger.

"The closing of the merger remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the remaining closing conditions set forth in the merger agreement, including receipt of regulatory approvals in certain foreign jurisdictions."

According to the National Law Review, the Federal Trade Commission and DOJ can terminate a mandatory waiting period early under the act if they determine that "no additional information is necessary and that the transaction does not pose significant competitive concerns."

Mandiant and Google both expect the deal to close by the end of this year.