BlackBerry to acquire Cylance in $1.4bn deal

Biggest-ever acquisition for BlackBerry reflects shift towards security software and services

BlackBerry is to buy Cylance in an deal that values the AI cybersecurity specialist at $1.4 billion.

The acquisition further cements BlackBerry's shift away from smartphone hardware - with BlackBerry smartphones now made by TCL, with added BlackBerry software for messaging and encryption - towards security software and services.

Cylance was founded in 2012 by former McAfee/Intel duo Stuart McClure and Ryan Permeh. On its website, the Californian firm boasts that it's "revolutionizing cybersecurity" with AI-based solutions that predict and prevent the execution of advanced threats and malware at the endpoint.

The company claims more than 3,500 active enterprise customers, including governments and more than 20 per cent of the Fortune 500.

BlackBerry's acquisition of the Cylance, which is the largest in the company's history. It claims that it will leverage Cylance to bolster its Spark Enterprise of Things (EoT) platform and, more specifically, its UEM and QNX products

Cylance will operate as a separate business unit within BlackBerry, the company said

"Cylance's leadership in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity will immediately complement our entire portfolio, UEM [Unified Endpoint Management] and QNX [embedded real-time operating system] in particular. We are very excited to onboard their team and leverage our newly combined expertise," said John Chen, BlackBerry CEO.

"We believe adding Cylance's capabilities to our trusted advantages in privacy, secure mobility, and embedded systems will make BlackBerry Spark indispensable to realising the Enterprise of Things."

Stuart McClure, co-founder and CEO of Cylance, added: "Our highly skilled cybersecurity workforce and market leadership in next-generation endpoint solutions will be a perfect fit within BlackBerry where our customers, teams and technologies will gain immediate benefits from BlackBerry's global reach.

"We are eager to leverage BlackBerry's mobility and security strengths to adapt our advanced AI technology to deliver a single platform."

The deal, which is pending regulatory approvals, consists of $1.4 billion in cash, plus any unvested employee share options. It is set to close before the end of BlackBerry's current financial year in February 2019.