Cloud play: Google to buy Looker for $2.6 billion

Alphabet Inc.’s Google agreed to buy Looker Data Sciences Inc. for $2.6 billion, expanding its offerings to help customers manage data in the cloud.

The acquisition announced Thursday gives Google a new tool in its campaign to sell more cloud storage and software. So far, the company has struggled to compete with larger rivals Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. and late last year, Google replaced its head of cloud, Diane Greene, with longtime Oracle Corp. executive Thomas Kurian.

Looker, based in Santa Cruz, California, helps companies visualize and analyze the data they store in the cloud. The deal is Google’s biggest since it acquired smart-home company Nest Labs for $3.2 billion in 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Any dealmaking by Google now will get a close look by regulators, since the company is facing an antitrust investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.