“Canada’s BlackBerry Ltd. said on Friday it will buy rival mobile software provider Good Technology Corp. for $425 million, to boost its ability to help corporate clients manage smartphones running on different operating systems,” Allison Martell reports for Reuters.
“The cash deal may help BlackBerry, a one-time smartphone pioneer, win new customers for its services business, a priority as it shifts focus to device management software for enterprise customers,” Martell reports. “More than half the devices running on Good’s systems are Apple Inc. products such as the iPhone.”
“BlackBerry said it expects to realize about $160 million in revenue from the acquisition in the first year after the deal closes, expected by late November.,” Martell reports. “On a call with analysts and investors, BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen was asked about Good’s cash burn. He promised that BlackBerry would remain cash flow positive overall… ‘There is a very long history here. We are in an incredibly competitive market and speak to many of the same customers,’ said Good Chief Executive Christy Wyatt in an interview posted on BlackBerry’s news site. Wyatt said her company’s technology would boost BlackBerry’s ability to manage ‘Internet of Things’ devices, supporting wearable technology such as the Apple Watch…”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Beleaguered BlackBerry’s attempt to morph into a services company for managing Apple devices continues.
They should be holding on to every penny tightly!
Rumored new company name- Not Good Enough Technology.
They should be looking for (lower case) good technology instead.
Good for Apple.
Blackberry, currently residing in the “where are they now?” file.