BlackBerry to Buy Good Technology for $425 Million

BlackBerry Ltd. said Friday it would buy closely held Good Technology Corp. for $425 million, in a move to further bolster the Canadian company's efforts to sell mobile security software to government and corporate customers.

Stung by the dramatic drop in fortunes of its smartphone business since 2013, BlackBerry is betting in part on device-management software to reignite growth.

Good Technology, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., competes with BlackBerry in offering software that allows companies to manage mobile devices used by employees on corporate networks. By acquiring Good, BlackBerry eliminates a competitor to help bolster its competitive advantage against Citrix Systems Inc. and other rivals.

"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," Chief Executive John Chen said in a statement.

The deal also provides BlackBerry with additional revenue, which has been under pressure amid a slow takeup of the company's latest version of its mobile device management software.

BlackBerry said it expects to realize approximately $160 million in revenue from Good in the first year after closing.

Write to Ben Dummett at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 04, 2015 09:05 ET (13:05 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.