BlackBerry makes US$425 million acquisition of device management company

BlackBerry announced a US$425-million cash deal to buy Good Technology.

Both BlackBerry and Good Technology provide mobile device management software that provides security for enterprise, business and government entities. In recent years Good has found success in wooing customers who lean toward Apple’s iOS devices.

Good has annual revenue in the US$200-million range, and BlackBerry will realise close to US$160 million GAAP revenue from Good in the first year, assuming the deal passes regulatory bodies in Canada and the US.

Relations between BlackBerry and Good have been tense at times. In January 2015, after Good announced a new system that would make it possible to measure a smartphone user’s personal and business data usage, BlackBerry posted a version of Good’s release that it had annotated with red ink, questioning its novelty and promoting its own, competing service.