BlackBerry acquires competitor Good Technology for $425 million in cash

BlackBerry announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Good Technology for $425 million in cash. The company said that this acquisition will allow it to expand and enhance the security within its mobile platform.

Good has played the role as one of BlackBerry’s biggest competitors in the Mobile Device Management space. Similar to BlackBerry’s BES suite, Good’s solutions allow companies to separate work and personal data on an employee’s phone, as well as set rules and limitations on how he or she can use his device.

Moreover, Good has found a niche in email, mobile virtual private network (VPN) data access, and handheld security for enterprise customers. Good has traditionally focused on iOS, Android and, to a lesser extent Windows management.

John Chen, BlackBerry’s CEO, stated, “BlackBerry will better solve one of the biggest struggles for CIOs today, especially those in regulated industries: securely managing devices across any platform. By providing even stronger cross-platform capabilities our customers will not have to compromise on their choice of operating systems, deployment models or any level of privacy and security. 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.”

Motorola bought Good Technology in 2007 for over than $400 million, then in 2009 sold the company to Visto for an undisclosed amount.

For BlackBerry, spending $425 million of its $3b reserve is a big deal, and must need it has larger plans for Good than merely integrating it into what is already considered to be one of the most comprehensive enterprise management solutions out there. It is also double what it spent on QNX, its previously-largest acquisition back in 2010.