Blackberry In $1.4 Billion Deal To Buy Cylance

Blackberry has entered into a $1.4 billion cash deal to acquire Cylance with the intention of using the cybersecurity firm’s technology to accelerate Blackberry’s Enterprise of Things (EoT) project.

The agreement will see Blackberry combine Cylance’s artificial intelligence, algorithmic science, and machine learning technology to accelerate its previously disclosed strategy to be the leader in secure endpoint communications across the EoT, and be used to improve Blackberry Spark platform, Blackberry UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) and QNX operating system.

“We believe adding Cylance’s capabilities to our trusted advantages in privacy, secure mobility, and embedded systems will make BlackBerry Spark indispensable to realizing the Enterprise of Things,” said Blackberry CEO John Chen.

The deal is expected to close, after all regulatory conditions are met, in February 2019. In addition to the $1.4 billion payment, Blackberry is assuming all of Cylance’s unvested employee incentive compensation.

Cylance will operate as an independent business unit with its CEO Stuart McClure reporting to Chen. Cylance