Is Google Eyeing An Acquisition Of Box After Forming A New Partnership?

Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL and its Google unit announced on Wednesday a new partnership with the cloud storage company Box Inc BOX. As part of the agreement, Box's customers will have better access to Google Docs and other Google services and apps.

As noted by Recode, Google's partnership is strategic in nature given the competitive landscape. Specifically, Google is looking to compete in the market against companies such as salesforce.com, inc. CRM, which recently acquired Quip, the closest competing product to Google Docs.

Related Link: "Understanding YouTube Advertising": Bob Peck On Why Google's Paid Clicks Are Growing But CPC Is Declining

Recode also highlighted a part of the what was included in Google and Box's press release. The two companies will "work together to develop and deliver next-generation intelligence to Box users searching for content on Google Springboard."

Google Springboard is Google's new search engine built specifically for enterprise customers.

As such, investors should be questioning if the partnership is a precursor to a Google acquisition of Box. According to Recode, the answer isn't just a "maybe" but "probably not."

For starters, Google is sitting on around $73 billion and Box's market cap sits at less than $2 billion. Google is also showing a tendency to acquire smaller enterprises to "tighten up its enterprise business" so that it can rival its ads business in terms of size and revenue contribution.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.

Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!