Palo Alto Networks has confirmed the $25 billion acquisition of identity and access management specialist CyberArk, after speculation earlier this week that it was about to step in.
The buyer said: “This strategic combination will mark Palo Alto Networks' formal entry into identity security, establishing it as a core pillar of the company's multi-platform strategy.
“Combining CyberArk's long-standing leadership in identity security and privileged access management (PAM) with Palo Alto Networks' comprehensive AI-powered security platforms will extend privileged identity protection to all identity types, including human, machine, and the new wave of autonomous AI agents.”
Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, said: "Our market entry strategy has always been to enter categories at their inflection point, and we believe that moment for identity security is now. This strategy has guided our evolution from a next-gen firewall company into a multi-platform cybersecurity leader.”
Udi Mokady, founder and executive chairman of CyberArk, added: “Together, we'll bring unmatched expertise across human and machine identities, privileged access, and AI-driven innovation to secure what's next. This is more than a combination of technologies, it's an acceleration of the mission we began over two decades ago.”
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Palo Alto Networks and CyberArk, and is expected to close during the second half of Palo Alto Networks' fiscal 2026, subject to regulatory clearances and the approval by CyberArk shareholders.
A couple of Forrester analysts had their say on the acquisition. On the identity and access management market and how CyberArk’s expertise will complement Palo Alto Network’s platform approach, principal analyst Geoff Cairns said: “This acquisition elevates the consolidation trend that has characterised the IAM market in recent years to a new level, reshaping not only the IAM landscape but also the broader cybersecurity industry.
“Identity security is foundational to modern cybersecurity, and CyberArk’s areas of expertise in privileged identity management and machine identity security strongly complement Palo Alto Networks independent security platform approach.”
Overall, principal analyst Allie Mellen said the acquisition made sense: “Over the past several years, Palo Alto Networks has been on a mission to become a huge platform player in the security market. Given its product portfolio as it stands today, identity security capabilities are a missing piece of that puzzle. This acquisition rounds out its approach, given its existing cloud, network, and endpoint security products.”
