Google Cloud has acquired businesses intelligence platform Looker for $2.6 billion (£2bn) as it looks to further boost its data analytics services for multi-cloud customers.
Looker will be integrated into Google Cloud's analytics and data warehouse services, such as BigQuery and its customers will still be able to use any cloud data management they like, such as Amazon RedShift, Azure SQL or Oracle.
The deal, which was the first major acquisition of Thomas Kurian's reign as CEO of Google Cloud, was first announced in June, but it couldn't be completed till now as it was subject to a probe from the UK's competition watchdog.
The competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reportedly ruled that the deal would not adversely impact competition with regard to the market for data analytics tools and software. As both Google and Looker were not close competitors, the CMA didn't feel the deal would result in increased prices and affect organisations that use business intelligence tools, according to Reuters.
"Google Cloud and Looker share a common philosophy around delivering open solutions and supporting customers wherever they are - be it on Google Cloud, in other public clouds, or on-premises," said Kurian.
"As more organisations adopt a multi-cloud strategy, Looker customers and partners can expect continued support of all cloud data management systems like Amazon Redshift, Azure SQL, Snowflake, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server and Teradata."
The deal is actually the result of a four-year partnership between the two companies, according to Looker CEO Frank Bien, who said that it will give his firm better reach and strengthen its resources.
"Looker partners can expect to continue to work with us as they have before," Bien wrote in a blog post. "We expect that our award-winning support team will not only continue delivering an exceptional chat support experience but will also be bolstered by the additional resources and global presence of the Google Cloud team."
