Palo Alto Networks will take over Israeli identity security provider CyberArk in a deal valued at roughly $25 billion.
CyberArk shareholders, for every of their shares, will get $45 money and a couple of.2005 shares of Palo Alto. The deal is predicted to shut during Palo Alto Networks’ fiscal 2026.
Shares of Palo Alto fell 5% on Wednesday, constructing on a 5% loss from Tuesday. CyberArk’s stock whipsawed.
Palo Alto Chairman and CEO Nikesh Arora said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday that the corporate is entering the identity market because it hits an inflection point, which has at all times been its strategy.
“They’re poised to go and disrupt this market and create the platform we want and likewise solve the upcoming problem with agentic AI,” he said. “From all those aspects, we consider that is the proper time to do something like this and be ready for the market in the following 12 to 18 months.”
Blockbuster cybersecurity deals have been a force within the mergers and acquisitions market in 2025 after a comparatively slow period for deal-making. In March, Google shelled out $32 billion for cloud security startup Wiz in its biggest acquisition ever.
Palo Alto Networks intends to make use of the deal to officially penetrate the identity security market and improve its offering for patrons. Arora told CNBC that Palo Alto’s scale might help speed up the reach of CyberArk’s platform.
CyberArk, which went public a little bit over a decade ago, creates identity software tools that grant employees access to platforms and applications. Its biggest competitors within the space include Okta and Microsoft.
As artificial intelligence advances, these tools have turn out to be more critical to protecting businesses against cyber and ransomware threats.
Since taking the helm of the corporate in 2018, Arora has bolstered the cybersecurity provider’s offerings and swelled its market value to roughly $120 billion.
This 12 months, Palo Alto bought startup Protect AI for an undisclosed amount to enhance its AI tools. The corporate acquired Talon Cyber Security, Dig Security and Zycada Networks in 2023.
Arora said he expects ongoing consolidation within the cybersecurity space over the following five years.
“Our job is to get this done, execute, deliver to the market and show our shareholders that we have now the power to execute these sorts of transactions, which I firmly consider we do,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that each firms had discussed a possible deal, sending shares of CyberArk skyrocketing greater than 13%.
5 day stock chart of Palo Alto Networks and CyberArk.
— CNBC’s Jordan Novet and Ari Levy contributed to this text.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly framed the terms of the deal for CyberArk shareholders.
