It's official - BlackBerry is buying cybersecurity firm Cylance for $1.4 billion

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It's official - BlackBerry is buying cybersecurity firm Cylance for $1.4 billion

Cylance CEO stuart mcclure

Cylance

Cylance CEO Stuart Mcclure

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Canadian software maker BlackBerry said on Friday it will acquire Cylance, an artificial intelligence and cybersecurity company, for $1.4 billion in cash. Business Insider first reported the acquisition talks in early November.

Besides the cash component, the deal includes the assumption of Cylance's unvested employee incentives, BlackBerry said.

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

Cylance, based in Irvine, California, develops artificial-intelligence-based products to protect companies from cyberattacks. It has raised $327 million in venture-capital funding, according to PitchBook, and was recently considering filing for an initial public offering, several sources told Business Insider.

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The six-year-old startup competes with CrowdStrike - which is planning an IPO valuing the company at more than $3 billion, according to a recent Reuters report- in the fast-growing market for cybersecurity services.

BlackBerry has been expanding its security offerings, as it has shifted from selling mobile-phone hardware to providing enterprise software and services to business customers.

Cylance brought in more than $130 million in revenue for fiscal 2018, representing 90% year-over-year growth, a press release from June said. Cylance also has 4,000 customers, according to the release.

(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru)

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