$1 billion CrowdStrike deal collapses over faltering 'customer trust'

An exclusive report posted earlier this month by CSO detailed a deal between CrowdStrike and Action1 to purchase the cloud-based patch management and vulnerability remediation company for nearly $1 billion.

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Now, a new report has claimed that deal has fallen a part following Action1 declining the acquisition offer by CrowdStrike. The new report by CSO states Action1 has decided to stay independent to keep full control of the company in an effort to not let dilution impact the brand's "ability to innovate."

Mike Walters, president and CEO of Action1 comment on the collapse of the deal, saying that one of the main reasons why Action1 declined the offer was over "customer trust", which presented itself after emails leaked about a potential acquisition by CrowdStrike was in the works.

Walters said that after the emails leaked the company saw a "a lot of comments on Reddit and LinkedIn, and the overwhelming consensus was that we should stay independent. That was a big vote of confidence for us, reaffirming our belief in our strategy to remain independent."

When asked about the failed acquisition CrowdStrike said it doesn't comment on "rumors and speculations".

"Action1's decision to remain independent, driven by user concerns, suggests that customers were wary of potential changes that could negatively impact the services they rely on, especially after CrowdStrike's recent issues. The shadow of the "Falcon Fiasco" still haunts CrowdStrike and will likely continue to do so, making business expansion and customer acquisition challenging.

In my opinion, this news will give more reasons for clients debating renewal or adoption of CrowdStrike's services to seek alternatives. CrowdStrike has a long way to recover and should take this setback seriously instead of dismissing it by accepting an award for the failure," said Prof. Ahmed Banafa, Tech Expert and Engineering professor at San Jose State University, who specializes in IoT, blockchain, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence

• Read more: CrowdStrike president accepts 'Most Epic Fail' award over world's largest IT outage