In a statement, Arctic Wolf said that, under the terms of the agreement, it will give BlackBerry a total of US$160 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments, and approximately 5.5 million common shares of Arctic Wolf. After allowing for the purchase price adjustments, BlackBerry will receive approximately US$80 million in cash at closing of the deal, expected in late February, and approximately US$40 million in cash one year later.
A win-win, says BlackBerry
“Security has an operations and effectiveness problem and endpoint solutions alone have failed to live up to the outcomes they have promised for years,” Arctic Wolf CEO Nick Schneider, said in a statement. “By incorporating Cylance’s endpoint security capabilities into our open-XDR Aurora platform, we will be addressing a rampant need for a truly unified, effective security operation that delivers better outcomes for customers. We believe we will be able to rapidly eliminate alert fatigue, reduce total risk exposure, and help customers unlock further value with our warranty and insurability programs.”
BlackBerry CEO John Giamatteo said he sees the deal “as a win-win for our shareholders and all other stakeholders. Our customers will realize the benefits of continuity of service and the expertise that a global cybersecurity leader like Arctic Wolf provides. Arctic Wolf benefits by adding Cylance’s endpoint security solutions to its native platform. Finally, as Arctic Wolf leverages its scale to build upon and grow the Cylance business, BlackBerry will benefit as a reseller of the portfolio to our large government customers and as a shareholder of the company.”
