BlackBerry’s $425M Mobile Security Bet

Smartphone maker BlackBerry announced Friday (Sept. 4) a definitive agreement to acquire Good Technology, a mobile security solutions provider, for $425 million in cash.

According to Blackberry, the acquisition is aligned with the company’s ongoing strategy to offer an end-to-end mobile enterprise security solution across all platforms.

“By acquiring Good, BlackBerry will better solve one of the biggest struggles for CIOs today, especially those in regulated industries: securely managing devices across any platform. By providing even stronger cross-platform capabilities our customers will not have to compromise on their choice of operating systems, deployment models or any level of privacy and security,” John Chen, BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO, said in a company release. “Like BlackBerry, Good has a very strong presence in enterprises and governments around the world and, with this transaction, BlackBerry will enhance its sales and distribution capabilities and further grow its enterprise software revenue stream.”

The purchase of Good Technology is expected to enable BlackBerry to provide a unified mobility platform, with a mobility infrastructure that will be supported by security measures that have been certified by governments around the world.

Good Technology will bring with it a host of capabilities and technologies, including secure applications and containerization to protect end user privacy, BlackBerry confirmed.

The technologies will integrate directly into the BlackBerry’s enterprise portfolio and global network in an effort to establish a broad management solution for all mobile devices what will also foster security and customer privacy.

“Enterprise customers today demand stringent security and the most flexible platform across all mobility strategies,” said Christy Wyatt, Good Chairman and CEO. “We are excited to join BlackBerry, where together we will be the most comprehensive mobile platform in the market. Good has worked hard to deliver the highest levels of security across operating systems and applications. Our trusted Good solutions will also help BlackBerry to accelerate its Internet of Things platform for managing endpoints beyond mobile devices.”

BlackBerry said it expects the transaction to be completed toward the end of its 2016 fiscal third quarter and has the potential to realize nearly $160 million in revenue from the Good Technology transaction in the first year after closing.

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