Palo Alto CEO on $25B CyberArk deal: “This is the lowest our stock will be for the next five years”
Nikesh Arora calls the acquisition “a seminal move” for the future of cybersecurity.
“This is the lowest Palo Alto and CyberArk stock is going to be for the next five years.”
That was how Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora framed his company’s bold $25 billion acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity firm CyberArk, one of the largest cybersecurity deals in history and a defining bet on the future of identity-based protection in the age of AI.
Shlomo Kramer: “The Palo Alto-CyberArk acquisition is the end of a successful run from PANW”
Why CyberArk sold at the peak: Inside the $25 billion deal with Palo Alto Networks
The agreement, announced Wednesday, marks Palo Alto’s formal entry into the identity security category and underscores Arora’s belief that controlling digital identity, especially for autonomous AI agents, is the next frontier in cyber defense.
“I’ve looked at over 300 cybersecurity companies in all shapes and sizes. CyberArk was our number one choice,” Arora said, calling the move “a seminal moment” that will shape the industry for years to come.
The deal came together swiftly, driven by Arora’s “respect and confidence in what Udi and CyberArk built.” The two firms had already begun a technical partnership, exploring how their platforms could integrate. But soon, the vision expanded.
“We were on a path as an independent company,” said Udi Mokady, CyberArk’s co-founder and chairman. “We saw a bright future on our own, but inflection requires scale and moving fast. There’s no comparison to what we can do with Palo Alto.”
Arora said CyberArk fills the last major gap in Palo Alto’s cybersecurity platform and is critical for managing the machine identities proliferating with the rise of AI.
“For me, the more I learn about cybersecurity, the more I believe the true identity solution is identity security,” he said. “The only company that does identity security at scale is CyberArk.”
Related articles:
The two executives emphasized cultural and geographic alignment, especially in Israel, where both companies maintain large development teams. “There’s great chemistry between the organizations, including around Israel, which was very important to us,” Mokady said.
Arora pledged to retain all of CyberArk’s employees and hinted at further expansion. “More than likely, we will invest more and faster in Israel,” he said. “I keep running out of space. I need more building space in Israel.”
He added with confidence: “This will go down as one of the more seminal moves in cybersecurity in five years’ time.”
